Mark Guhne

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s golf team made for a nice little story last year and appeared in national publications.

The mid-major team rose from mediocrity with a former wrestler as its coach, won its conference tournament and found itself in the bright lights of the NCAA East Regional.

That’s where the 2006-07 story ended: The Mocs’ cute run came up short against the big dogs of college golf. UTC finished 19th in the regional at 46 over par, and Jonathan Hodge was its top individual finisher in 50th place.

“Last year we had the goal of getting to the regional, which is something UTC had never done,” coach Mark Guhne said. “We sold ourselves short by just getting there and not being prepared to advance.

“We didn’t have the right mindset.”

One year later, the Mocs are armed with the No. 5 seed on their home course and expect to advance.

The starting lineup without a senior is a year older, wiser, more experienced and tournament-tested by elite teams in the country. The Mocs proved 2006-07 was not a Cinderella season by winning five tournaments, collecting three individual titles and rising as high as No. 12 in the nation in 2007-08.

“Maybe we were a little bit scared last year,” junior Ben Rickett said. “It was definitely a new experience last year.”

They’re ready for this year’s regional, which starts Thursday at Council Fire Golf Club in East Brainerd. Ten of the 28 teams will advance to the NCAA Championship.

“The difference is our confidence level,” said Hodge, another junior. “Last year, we’d never done it before, but we saw that it could be done.

“This year we know the course and we have confidence in ourselves.”

The home-course advantage adds a bit of pressure for them to succeed.

“Having UTC playing in their hometown, especially since they’re already a good team, makes them the odds-on favorite,” said Georgia coach Chris Haack, whose team arrives with the No. 1 overall seed. “They’re the favorite to do well and maybe win it.”

Winning the regional is the secondary goal for the week. Finishing in the top 10 is the primary mission.

But the Mocs’ approach is opposite: Think about winning.

“Georgia expects to walk in here, play very well and advance to the next level,” Guhne said. “It’s a new process for us. Hopefully we are developing those same expectations in this program.

“I’ve tried hard not to make the kids feel that it’s life or death, but at the same time, to have the kind of season we’ve had and not move on would be very disappointing.”

The Mocs have won their last three tournaments, beating regional participants LSU, Ole Miss, UAB, Clemson, Virginia Tech and South Carolina, the No. 3 seed in the East.

“We feel more comfortable playing against those big-name teams since we played in bigger tournaments this year,” UTC sophomore Derek Rende said. “We are smarter, we are more experienced and I think we’ve improved a lot in the last year.

“It’s a different year.”

And he and his teammates are expecting a different result.

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