Success breeds success as the East Tennessee State women’s golf team continues its ascent among the elite women’s golf programs in the nation. During her previous seven years at ETSU, head coach Stefanie Shelton has progressively taken the Lady Bucs to levels of success never before seen in the history of the ETSU women’s
golf program.
A year ago, the Buccaneers finished the year ranked 47th nationally by Golfstat.com, the highest such national ranking in program history. In addition, the 2008-09 season also included two more team championships for the squad, as ETSU captured titles in the Sea Trail Women’s Invitational and UNCW Lady Seahawk Invitational. Those successes came after a historic 2007-08 season in which the Bucs captured their first conference championship ever and made the team’s first trip to NCAA postseason play. In winning the 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference team championship, the squad also captured its first ever conference individual championship, as sophomore Laura Jansone took home that honor. The league title was ETSU’s second team championship of that year, as the squad also won the South Alabama Lady Jaguar Invitational trophy as well.
In all, Shelton’s teams have nine tournament titles in her seven seasons at ETSU and have finished in the Top 10 in 52 of 59 events, including 41 Top 5 showings. A year ago, Shelton also guided her players to individual success, as a total of four players earned all-conference honors.
Indeed, the record books have been rewritten in recent years, as Shelton has helped several Lady Bucs reach personal bests both in stroke average and individual round play, plus the team has set new program records in every team category. In addition, she has coached six first-team all-conference selections, seven second-team all-conference selections, and two freshman-of-the-year recipients in 2004-05 and 2006-07. In fact, for her efforts during the 2004-05 season, Shelton was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year, and she earned the same honor in both 2006-07 and 2007-08 from the Atlantic Sun Conference. Prior to last season, the team enjoyed what was at the time its best finish ever in conference championship play both in 2005-06 and 2006-07, finishing second in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships, and narrowly missing out on trips to the NCAA Championships.
In addition to the continued success on the golf course, the team has excelled in the classroom, maintaining a 3.57 cumulative GPA, placing it in the top 25 in the country.
Shelton came to ETSU from Texas Christian University where she was the assistant women’s golf coach during the 2001-02 season. While with the Horned Frogs, she assisted with all aspects of the team, including coaching, recruiting, practice organization and conducting the first Horned Frog golf camp.
A 2001 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a double major in entrepreneurial management and marketing, Shelton was a three-year member of the women’s golf team at South Carolina where she was an Academic All-American, as well as making the SEC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll every year. Before playing at South Carolina, Shelton played for a year at Wake Forest University, redshirting her freshman year. An exceptional student, Shelton made the dean’s list in each of her seasons at South Carolina, graduating cum laude in her majors. Shelton minored in Sports Administration. She has begun work toward a master’s degree in Sports Psychology at ETSU.
Shelton was also involved with helping manage a golf school, the Hartefeld National Golf School, working with that program for four years. There she assisted PGA professionals with instruction of adults, collegians and juniors. Shelton was a member of the National Golf Coaches Association Strategic Development Committee, as well as a charter member and “Education Chair” of the Tri-Cities Executive Women’s Golf Association. She also served as a columnist for Golf Journeys magazine.
In addition to her academic and athletic exploits, Shelton also has a long history of community service. At ETSU, Shelton has stressed community involvement and has directed her players to help in several “giving back” activities, such as participating in Special Olympics, Communities in Schools, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Families First, Appalachian Christian Village and Woodridge Hospital. She was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Athletes Care Team while at Wake Forest. At South Carolina, she participated in Team Gamecock Habitat for Humanity Harvest Hope and was a big sister for a third grader in 1999. As a player, Shelton was the youngest Delaware Amateur Champion at age 16, held many titles as a junior golfer traveling throughout the nation, and set two course records. She was a co-captain her senior year at South Carolina and was ranked second in the nation in “short game.” She competed in Regional Championships every year and competed with her team for a National Championship title three times.
Shelton and her husband David reside in Fall Branch, Tenn.
