Jackson State opens play Monday morning in the two-day Southwestern Athletic Conference Fall Preview at the RTJ Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham, Alabama, with the 36-hole event featuring men's and women's fields playing challenging Appalachian elevation changes and recently renovated course layouts, sportsmississippi.com reported.
The facility sits on former U.S. Steel mining land and includes both the Ridge and Valley courses. According to the event preview cited by sportsmississippi.com, the Valley course underwent a complete overhaul in 2021 that introduced new tees, bunkers, and TifEagle greens alongside fresh redesigns on multiple holes, including the previously notorious 18th hole. The course measures 7,000 yards for the men and 6,043 yards for the women.
For the Jackson State men’s squad, Trace Carpenter is scheduled to start on Hole 1A, with Kaden Tibbetts teeing off right behind him on Hole 1B, sportsmississippi.com reported. They are joined across the front nine by JD Berndt at No. 2, Ekam Singh at No. 3, Sahil Nathoo at No. 4, and Emmanuel Jensen at No. 5.
The Jackson State women begin their rounds on the back nine, with Maddy Beeching listed at No. 14, sportsmississippi.com reported. Isabella Christy is assigned to No. 15B, Micaiah Joubert to No. 15A, and Briann Briggs to No. 16, while Alex Washington and Jannel Calixterio round out the lineup at No. 17B and No. 17A.
Bethune-Cookman also travels to Birmingham for the SWAC Fall Tournament, marking the program’s last tournament appearance for the Wildcats until the spring campaign. Senior Lathika Krishna leads the Wildcats following her 1-under 71 in the final round of the Powercat Classic in Manhattan, Kansas, which marked one of the top individual rounds of the tournament and the best for any B-CU golfer since 2020.
Bethune-Cookman joins Alabama State, Jackson State, Texas Southern, and Prairie View A&M as one of five SWAC schools participating in the event, europesays.com noted.
Worth a look
