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As a member of the first varsity team at the University of North Carolina in 1974, Sally Austin had already established herself as one of the founding figures of Tar Heel women's golf as an undergraduate. Entering her 14th year as the head coach at Carolina, Austin is well on her way toward continuing the Tar Heel women's golf legacy and making its third decade of existence among the finest in the program's history. In Austin's 13 seasons as head coach, Carolina has finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships five times. The Tar Heels have won six tournament titles with Austin at the helm. Also, five players have captured 12 individual championships while under Austin's tutelage. Austin has coached four All-Americas who have been named to the team six times and seven All-ACC performers named to the team on 13 occasions. In addition, one of her players, Marcy Newton, was selected ACC Rookie of the Year in 1996-97 and was named to the 1999 Golfweek Sagarin Mid Atlantic/East District First Team. Several of Austin's players have been honored academically as well. Rachel Poston was named to the 1996 GTE Academic All-America District III At-Large Team. Several players have been selected to the National Golf Coaches Association's All-America Scholar Team - Staci Aber in 1994 and Shannon Boyle in 2005 and 2006. In addition, Sydney Crane was selected to the inaugural All-ACC Academic Women's Golf Team. Austin was selected the LPGA Coach of the Year in 2004. In 1999, she was named the LPGA SE Section Coach of the Year. In 2005-06, the Tar Heels finished 10th at the NCAA East Regional as Ann Laney claimed all-conference honors. In 2004-05, Carolina was led by Katie Miller who was selected to the All-ACC team. The Tar Heels tied for 15th place at the 2003-04 NCAA Championship and were led by a pair of first-team All-Americas - Meaghan Francella and Ashley Prange. Carolina finished in 13th place at the 2002-03 NCAA Championship and junior Meaghan Francella captured the ACC Individual Championship. In 2001-02, the Tar Heels finished 16th at the NCAA East Regional; while in 2000-01 Carolina tied for 15th place at the NCAA East Regional, which was played in Chapel Hill. In 1999-00, Carolina finished 17th at the NCAA East Regional and missed the cut for the NCAAs. However, senior Marcy Newton, an All-ACC performer, honorable mention All-America and later U.S. Women's Amateur champion, advanced as an individual participant. In 1998-99, the Tar Heels tied for ninth at the NCAA East Regional. The 15th-place finish in 1997-98 marked UNC's seventh top-25 finish in 10 years. The 1997 team finished third at the ACC Tournament and tied for 10th at the NCAA East Regional, missing the cut for NCAAs. The 1996 squad also missed the cut for NCAAs as Carolina finished 12th at the NCAA East Regional and third at the ACC Championship. The 1995 team finished eighth at the NCAA Championship while the `94 squad tied for 16th. A native of Raeford, N.C., Austin took over head coaching duties of the women's golf team after the 1992-93 season. Austin replaced longtime Tar Heel coach Dot Gunnells after serving as an assistant to Gunnells since 1983. In addition to her tenure as assistant coach, Austin was a member of the Tar Heels' first varsity program in 1973-74. Her father played an instrumental role in helping pioneer that first team. Before his daughter entered UNC, Jake Austin approached then athletic director Homer Rice about starting a team. Rice seemed receptive to the idea, and upon Austin's arrival, sent out a "recruiting notice" to students who might be interested in playing. Three other students besides Austin responded to Rice's request. One of those who responded was Mindy Moore, a future president of the LPGA. Moore and Austin played together for four years from the team's inception until graduation. Austin captured the 1974-75 UNC-CH Invitational individual title. By the time the two were seniors, they had led the team to a spot as one of the top 20 teams in the country. They accomplished this feat with Coach Gunnells at the helm. Upon graduation from North Carolina in 1977 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, Austin continued her pursuit of golf. The winner of the 1979 North Carolina Women's Amateur Championship, Austin won events on the Women's Professional Golf Tour and the Futures Tour. She received her LPGA Tour card in 1987. In addition to the one-year LPGA experience, Austin played for five years on mini-tours across the country (1980-85), two years on the Asian Tour (1984-85) and one year on the WPGA European Tour (1986). Austin has been a golf instructor at the Pine Needles Schools in Pinehurst since 1978, where she has worked under the supervision of Peggy Kirk Bell. She also was a golf instructor from 1986-89 at the Ben Sutton Golf Schools and from 1989-94 at the Craft-Zavichas Schools. Austin holds an LPGA Class A Teaching Certification. Austin also conducts a golf camp for girls on UNC's campus each summer. For more information write to Coach Austin at 407 Lancaster Drive, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27517. |
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