Eastern Kentucky University Women's Golf

Whitson led the Colonels to their second-ever OVC Championship and the programs first NCAA Regional appearance in 2013.  After a second place finish at the OVC Championship in 2014, Whitson had EKU back on top of the league and making a second NCAA Regional appearance in 2015.  The team made it back-to-back championships by winning in record fashion in 2016.   Whitson was chosen as the OVC Coach of the Year in 2013, 2015 and 2016.   Eastern captured the 2016 title by 18 shots and set conference records for 54-hole total (888) and team tournament scoring average (296.0).  The Colonels went on to place 16th at the NCAA Shoal Creek Regional in Alabama.    The 2015-16 team set several new program records, including four tournament victories.  EKUs 54-hole total of 867 at the Ball State Cardinal Classic beat the previous mark by 27 strokes.  The Colonels round of 284 at the Ball State Cardinal Classic tied the program record.  Before the 2015-16 season, the program had shot only nine rounds below 299.  In 2015-16 alone, Eastern shot 13 rounds as a team below 299.  The teams 303.14 season scoring average broke the previous record of 306.88 set in 2013-14.  Whitson coached teams now own the top four lowest team scoring averages and six of the top seven in program history.   Individually, Amanda Lindahl garnered the first-ever OVC Freshman of the Year award for a Colonel and fired a new 54-hole program record of 215 at the Ball State Cardinal Classic.  Sofie Levin and Anna Gleixner each shot rounds of 68 during the 2015-16 season to tie the school record for lowest round.  Levin earned all-conference honors for the third time in three seasons and set a new program record with seven rounds of par or better.   Eastern Kentuckys remarkable 2015 season ended with the best performance ever by an OVC team at the NCAA Regional.  EKU placed 15th at the South Bend Regional.  The Colonels finished just one shot behind North Carolina and three shots in front of 45th ranked San Jose State.  No other OVC squad had ever finished higher at a regional.   With a starting-five that included two freshmen and three sophomores, Whitson had his team on the cusp of back-to-back OVC titles in 2014.  Eastern entered the final day of the OVC Championship with a six-stroke lead before finishing second by two shots.  The 2014 team tied the school record with three titles.   That same group posted their own comeback to win the 2015 conference crown.  Eastern entered the final round trailing by four shots, but Levins 4-under 68 propelled her team to a one shot victory.  Levin took home OVC Championship MVP honors after finishing first overall. EKU was picked to finish sixth in the OVC in 2013, but Whitson took a team that included three freshmen and a first-year transfer to the top.  Eastern took the lead on day two of the OVC Championship and never relinquished it.  Under Whitsons tutelage, Kristen Dorsey a transfer from Kansas State earned OVC Championship MVP honors after finishing first by two shots. Whitson, a former Eastern Kentucky University mens golfer, was selected as the womens golf head coach in August 2010.  He was a four-year letter winner for the Colonels from 1994 to 1998, helping the team to a second-place Ohio Valley Conference finish and capturing All-OVC honors in 1998. The experience of being back at EKU and working with the womens golf program has been very exciting for me, Whitson said.  It is an honor to be back home and coaching at my alma mater.  We are in the midst a very exciting time in EKU golf.  It didnt take long to see the impact the completion of our practice facility and our new locker room would have.  The potential for our program is limitless. In six seasons at Eastern Kentucky, Whitson has coached 11 All-OVC selections. His teams own program records for single round (284), 36-hole tournament (576) and 54-hole tournament (867).  In addition, during his six seasons as head coach EKU has posted the 22 lowest single round team scores in program history, seven of the eight best 36-hole tournament scores and 17 of the 19 lowest 54-hole tournament scores. Individually, Whitsons players have recorded 31 of the top 36 single round scores in team history, 15 of the top 16 36-hole tournament scores and the 16 lowest 54-hole tournament scores.   Players coached by Whitson own the 12 lowest single season scoring averages in school history.  Levin owns the top three single season scoring averages.  Whitsons teams also own the top four, and six of the seven lowest team single season scoring averages in EKU history. In his first season as the Colonels head coach (2010-11), Whitson led the team to nine top-10 finishes, including six top-5 appearances. In Whitsons first season, EKU captured its first team title since the fall of 2006.  After finishing tied with Florida Atlantic at the 2011 EKU El Diablo Intercollegiate, the Colonels won a playoff to capture the team championship trophy.  Whitson also helped the team to a fourth place finish at the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference championship, its best showing since 2008. In his second season on the job, Whitsons squad finished in the top-10 in 10 of its 11 events and captured a second team title in record-breaking fashion.  One day after setting a new school record, Eastern Kentucky did it again on its way to winning the 23-team Great Smokies Intercollegiate.  The Colonels shattered the single round program record of 292, set one day earlier, by carding a final round of 284.  The 36-hole total of 576 was 33 shots better than the previous school record of 609.  Before the first round score of 292, EKUs best single round score was 299.   Before returning to his alma mater, the Paris, Kentucky native spent five years as the head womens golf coach at Indiana State University.  Whitson was hired in 2005 and charged with restarting the womens program after a 28-year hiatus.  His first Sycamore team (2006-07) placed eighth among 10 teams in the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference tournament.  By 2009, Whitson had his squad up to sixth.  In 2010, ISU turned in its best performance, a third place finish.  In four seasons of competition, he coached four All-MVC selections. In addition to their success on the course, Whitsons student-athletes have excelled in the classroom.  In 2010 Indiana State was listed fourth on the Womens Golf Coaches Associations (WGCA) top-25 list of team grade point averages.  Whitsons squad had the highest team GPA among NCAA Division I institutions.  In four seasons Whitson coached 17 WGCA All-American Scholar Team selections, including five each in 2006-07 and 2007-08. In his first year at EKU, Whitson saw five more of his student-athletes selected to the WGCA All-American Scholar Team.  In 2012, six Colonels earned spots on the All-American Scholar Team.  No other school in the nation placed more student-athletes on the team.  Five more Colonels were named to the WGCA All-American Scholar list in 2013.  Four each were recognized in 2014, 2015 and 2016 bringing the total to 28 in six seasons as EKUs head coach. Easterns 2012-13 team grade-point-average of 3.604 ranked 22nd among all divisions of womens golf on the WGCA Top-25. Whitson spent three seasons (2001-04) as an assistant womens golf coach at the University of Tennessee.  He helped UT advance to the NCAA tournament each season, including the NCAA Championships during the spring of 2004 where the team placed 11th.  The 2002-03 regular season also saw great success as the Lady Vols set a school record by winning three tournament titles, including the Lady Boilermaker Invitational, the Auburn Tiger Derby, and the Lady Kat Invitational. Tennessee was a regular in the top 10 nationally during Whitsons tenure at UT, and reached as high as No. 2 in the NGCA Division I Coaches poll.  He also coached three All-Americans, three Academic All-Americans, and three future LPGA Tour members; Jessica Shepley, Young-A Yang and Violeta Retamoza.   Whitsons collegiate coaching career began at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.  In 2000-01, his only season at the school, Whitson led the womens golf team to a No. 16 ranking in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).  He guided the team to a first-place finish and three second-place performances.  In addition, he coached sophomore Catherine Benson to a third-place finish at the NAIA Nationals, earning her All-America honors. As a senior in 1998, Whitson fired a second round score of 64 at the OVC tournament.  He finished tied for third with a three-round total of 214, two shots under par.  During his collegiate career Whitson also served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. As an amateur, he won the Michelob Classic in May 1997 and the Club Car Classic in May 1998.  Whitson was also runner-up at the Kentucky State Amateur Championship in 1997 and 1998.  After concluding his collegiate career, Whitson played on a number of professional golf tours, including the Hooters Tour, Central Florida Tour and Development Players Tour.  As a pro, he claimed the 1998 Owensboro Open title and finished among the top 10 in five other events.  In addition, Whitson posted three straight top-10 finishes at the Kentucky Open.  He placed 10th as an amateur in 1997 followed by seventh and fourth place finishes the next two years as a pro. Whitson earned a bachelors degree in physical education from EKU in 1998.  He completed a masters degree in education with an emphasis in athletic administration at the University of Kansas in 2005.  Whitson and his wife Autumn reside in Richmond with their daughter Leeann and their son Collier.