MARTIN, Tenn. – The first of 12 tournaments on the University of Tennessee at Martin’s 2024-25 golf schedule begins on Monday, Sept. 9 as the Skyhawks make the familiar trek to Madison, Ill. for the SIUE Dolenc Invitational held at Gateway National.
           
UT Martin will take part in the SIUE Dolenc Invitational for the 11^th time in the 11-year history of the event and will look to continue its success from the 2023 version of the tournament. Dax Isbell won medalist honors after setting a tournament record for best overall score (197, -16) and single-round scoring (64) – one day after Skyhawk teammate Ethan Ray equaled the tournament record with a 65 in Round 1. As a team, UT Martin shot a 266 (-18) in the opening round – the best team score in the history of the tournament and top round in the Skyhawks’ NCAA Division I history – before finishing with a cumulative tally of 829 (-23).
           
Following the season-opener will be the 21^st annual Grover Page Classic hosted by UT Martin in Jackson, Tenn. before trips to events hosted by Arkansas State (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), Kennesaw State (Oct. 14-15) and Nicholls (Oct. 21-22) wrap up the fall. After a two-year hiatus from the event, the Skyhawks will head back to Arizona for the Loyola Intercollegiate in their spring opener (Feb. 16-18) before heading to New Orleans, La. (Feb. 26-27) and St. Simons Island, Ga. (March 13-15) for tournaments hosted by New Orleans and Western Carolina, respectively. The final three events on the 2024-25 docket are the short drives to Cordova, Tenn. for the Memphis Intercollegiate (March 31-April 1), Old Hickory, Tenn. for the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate (April 7-8) and Paducah, Ky. for the fourth installment of the Carpenter/Chaney Classic, co-hosted by UT Martin and Morehead State on April 14.
           
The 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Championships returns to Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. as this year’s tournament is set for April 20-23.
           
Fifth-year head coach Austin Swafford presides over a roster of a dozen talented golfers in 2024-25, a list that includes seven returners. Dax Isbell is back for his junior campaign after notching All-OVC accolades in 2023-24, ranking sixth in the OVC with a 72.2 stroke average. Redshirt senior Jonathan Xoinis (74.2 scoring average, two top-five finishes in 2023-24), sophomore Grant Phillips (74.6 stroke average, countable scores in 24 of his 29 opportunities as a starter last season) and junior Luke Caldwell (75.4 stroke average, 13 countable rounds in 21 chances as a starter in 2023-24) join Dax Isbell as four returners who were in the Skyhawks’ scoring five at the OVC Championships last season. Additionally returning are the senior trio of Ethan Ray (74.5 scoring average in 48 rounds over the past two seasons), Garrett Chumley (74.2 career stroke average in 47 rounds) and Jackson Twerdahl (76.7 scoring average in 29 career rounds).
           
The largest freshman signing class in recent memory is also set to contribute for Swafford in 2024-25 as Luke Beadles (son of former UT Martin golfer Todd Beadles), Cole Isbell (younger brother of Skyhawk teammate Dax Isbell), Jaden Morrell (younger brother of former UT Martin All-OVC golfer Bryson Morrell), Drew Williams and John-Gregory Wilson join the fold. The trio of Beadles (Nolensville), Morrell (Knoxville) and Wilson (Bolivar) are in-state products while Isbell (Cumming) and Williams (Greensboro) were recruited out of the state of Georgia.
           
A live scoring link for the SIUE Dolenc Invitational can be found above.