Sept. 9, 2010

Tennessee begins defense of its 2009 Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament trophy Friday morning in Rocky Face, Ga.

Actually, the Vols are defending their carpet -- that's right, the previous year's champion earns an actual Dalton carpet for the winning hardware in this North Georgia hotbed for home flooring fabrics.

The 12-team field is a familiar one -- all dozen teams are exactly the same as last year when Tennessee shot four rounds in the 60s on Sunday's final day to turn a competitive tournament into a rout. UT won by 12 shots over Chattanooga and moved to No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings.

"We are excited about going back to Dalton and defending our title this year," said head coach Jim Kelson, who enters his 13th season at the Vols helm and 19th as a collegiate head coach. "That was a big win for our program and it's a special place - a very special tournament. We're real excited about playing."

Kelson's lineup for the opening weekend is senior captain Robin Wingardh, juniors Garrick Porteous and Darren Renwick, sophomore Jay Vandeventer and freshman Brandon Rogers.

RENWICK TIED FOR 2009 INDIVIDUAL CROWN
Renwick tied for medalist honors there last year, closing with a 69 to shoot 6 under par for his first collegiate win.

"Obviously, we're really excited," Renwick said. "It's going to be very fun and it's without a doubt one of the best tournaments we play all year. It's a fantastic field, fantastic course and just a great way to start the season.

"I played well there my freshman year too (tie for 20th), so I really like the course. It suits me well."

Wingardh has improved his finish each year at the Carpet Capital, jumping from 23rd to 13th and all the way to tie for third last year. Now, the team's leader on and off the course anticipates a special season for the Vols.

"The time at Tennessee has gone fast. I've been developing my game and it's been better every year. I've been practicing hard and I have a good feeling about this year. We have three really good freshmen, so we have a deep team. We have all good players, so as a team I think we will do very well this year.

Wingardh also appreciates the Par 72, 7,012-yard layout at The Farm.

"It's always in good shape. It's a fair course - you can shoot low if you play well and, of course, you can shoot bad if you play bad; that's how it's supposed to be. We like that course a lot and we usually play pretty well there. It's always a really fun tournament."

Vandeventer carded two rounds of 69 during his freshman campaign, one at the Carpet Capital and the other at the SEC Championship. The Bristol native compiled a first-year stroke average of 75.0 in 10 tournaments.

RODGERS ONE OF THREE NEWCOMERS
Porteous and Rodgers are making their Carpet Capital debuts. Porteous, who hails from Morpeth in the northwest of England, made the lineup for UT's final seven tournaments of 2010 and fashioned a 73.88 stroke average. Rodgers, meanwhile, is a Farragut product and one of three freshman Vols on this year's squad. Rodgers helped Farragut High School to consecutive state golf championships in 2008 and 2009.

In addition to the Vols and Mocs, other teams in the field listed by last year's team finish are Georgia Tech, Auburn, South Carolina, Alabama, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Georgia and Mississippi.

Tennessee begins play Friday alongside Texas Tech and Georgia, teeing off on No. 1 at 9:50 a.m. Weather conditions call for only a slight chance of rain, light winds and a high of 90 degrees.

Live scoring is available on UTsports.com through Golfstat.com.

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