December 10, 2009

Stout announces four top-notch signees for women's golf team

Look no further than the Top 25 individuals at the state high school tournament standings and you’ll find four names that will be key members of the Tennessee Tech women’s golf team for the next four seasons.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Look no further than the Top 25 individuals at the state high school tournament standings and you’ll find four names that will be key members of the Tennessee Tech women’s golf team for the next four seasons.

Second-year coach Brandy Stout has announced the signing of four players who will enroll at Tech following graduation next spring and begin their collegiate careers with the 2010-2011 season.

The newest Golden Eagles will be Katy Beth Glover from Henry County High School, Ericka Wann from Blackman High School, and prep teammates Brandy VanEtten and Amber Shepherd from Anderson County High School.

All four placed in the Top 25 recently at the TSSAA state championships while leading their high school team.

Stout, who was a 2001 Golden Eagle signee and has been around the program as a player or coach for nearly a decade, feels it’s the top women’s golf signing class in school history.

“I am very pleased and excited about this recruited class,” Stout said. “This 2010 signing class is the best recruiting class to ever come through the Women's Golf program here at Tennessee Tech.

“All four signees finished in the top 25 at State and each one of these young ladies possess the ability to become a champion. They will be a great asset on and off the golf course and will help on leading us to many OVC Championships."

Katy Beth Glover is the daughter of Wyatt and Kathy Glover of Paris, Tenn., where she was the No. 1 player at Henry County High School for the past three years. After playing her freshman season under coach Buddy Inman, Glover’s final three prep seasons came under the guidance of coach Renae Lassiter. A versatile athlete, she also lettered one year on the basketball team and was an All-Mid State selection.

On the golf course, Glover was an All-District 10AAA finisher all four seasons, won all-region honors for three years and was a Class AAA All-State winner in 2008.

Ericka Wann is the daughter of Daniel and Geraldine Wann of Smyrna, Tenn., and paced Blackman High School during the past four years, advancing to the TSSAA state tournament each of the past three seasons. A team captain for the Lady Blaze, she plans to major in criminal justice.

She helped the team post a four-year mark of 128-39 and finish as Region 4AAA runnerup the past two years. She placed 14th in the state tournament in 2007 and 2008. The district medalist as a sophomore, she finished second in the district and region as a junior. As a senior, she tied for medalist honors at the region tournament with a 74 then placed in a tie for 21st place at the state championships with rounds of 82 and 79. She played her high school golf for coach Seth Burt.

Shepherd and VanEtten helped Anderson County High School win four consecutive district championships under coach Johnny Cox. They also captured three regional titles and finished third in the state tournament in 2006 and 2008, and second in 2007.

Amber Shepherd was a four-year starter at Anderson County High School. The daughter of Darrell and Sharon Shepherd from Caryville, Tenn., she will major in education. An Honors student, she was the first player from her school to earn first-team all-state honors, capturing that distinction as a sophomore in 2007. She repeated her first-team all-state honors as a junior and won the same honor for the third consecutive year.

She placed second in the district and 21st at the TSSAA state tournament as a freshman. In her sophomore season, she was the team’s Player of the Year, placing second in the district, third in the region and sixth in the state tournament. As a junior, she was third in the district, first in the region and seventh at the state event.

This past season, Shepherd finished first in the district, third in the region and fourth in the state.
Brandy VanEtten is the daughter of Willie and Robyn from Jacksboro, Tenn., and will study business.

She finished first in the district tournament as a freshman and junior, second as a sophomore and fourth as a senior. She was fourth in the region championships all four years. At the TSSAA state tournament this year she finished 17th overall with rounds of 77 and 81 for a 158 total.