Golf on Par

Among the most successful programs in the Tulane athletics department post-Hurricane Katrina, the Tulane women’s golf team has consistently stood out. The team is currently ranked No. 20 in the nation and is rapidly becoming a national powerhouse under head coach John Thomas Horton.

The Green Wave women’s golf program was not among the more than 19 athletic programs cut following the storm, thanks in large part to academic achievement and Title IX funding. The team, however, did go on a three-year “suspension,” during which the remnants of the squad either dispersed to other schools or remained at Tulane with their sport in hiatus. In 2007, Horton was named head coach and given the task of rebuilding the program, which would re-enter national competition in the 2008-2009 season.

Horton immediately set the bar high, helping guide Tulane to a Conference USA championship in his rookie campaign. The nation’s most inspiring Cinderella story, the Green Wave also had a strong showing in the NCAA Championships, finishing fifth in regional play and 20th overall in the nation. The program — thanks in large part to a committed corps of young recruits — was back in a big way.

This season, Tulane enters national play with higher expectations, following the success that the team enjoyed last year. Still, coupled with the success Tulane has enjoyed thus far in other sports — such as women’s swimming, volleyball and baseball— the successful trends present early in women’s golf could perhaps be indicative of a larger trend of success that the Green Wave athletics department hopes continue.

The women’s golf team is off until February, when it will travel to Arizona for the Wildcat Classic.