2012-13 BULLDOG GOLF MEDIA GUIDE
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JEFF PARKS Head Coach
Since Jeff Parks was hired as the head coach for Louisiana Tech three years ago, the Bulldog golf program had taken strides forward each season, including last year when it was on the verge of making the first NCAA Regional appearance in program history. After an impressive fall and spring season that saw the team record five Top 5 finishes and an 81-46 record, the Bulldogs climbed into the top 70 in the country heading into 2012 Western Athletic Conference Championships. Tech was on the brink of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, the ultimate goal of winning the WAC Championship and competing in the NCAAs eluded Tech as a fifth-place finish in the three-day, 54-hole event at Rio Secco Golf Course in early May wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs fell out of the Top 70 and contention for the bid. As disappointing as the end to the season was for Parks and Co. it was just one more step in the right direction and something the program and returning players can build upon heading into 2012-13. “We were close last year, and as proud as I was of what we were able to accomplish as a team, we still missed out on our ultimate goal,” Parks said. “We were close. We just didn’t finish as strong as we needed to in order to qualify for regionals. We can use it as a learning experience as we head into this season.” Senior Cody Blankenship – who returned from a snowboarding accident that sidelined him for the previous season – became just the third Bulldog to ever earn All-WAC honors. Blankenship registered five Top 20 finishes while recording an overall mark of 409-142 during the season. While the Bulldogs were succeeding for most of the year on the course, they were also excelling off of it as the Tech golf program earned an NCAA Public Recognition Award for ranking in the top 10 percent in multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) for their respective sport. Seven members of the team also earned Academic All-WAC accolades. The previous season (2010-11) saw the Bulldogs capture two team titles - the Squire Creek Invitational in October and the Jim West Intercollegiate in April - marking the first time since 2004-05 a LA Tech team had accomplished the feat. Tech also recorded its top finish ever in the Western Athletic Conference Championships as the Bulldogs finished fourth in the nine-team field, surpassing its previous best of fifth place on two previous occasions. After opening the fall season with a pair of top five finishes, Parks and Co. also earned its highest ranking ever moving up as high as 59th in Golfstat.com. This ranking shattered the previous high of 98th achieved twice during the previous 20 years. Along the way, freshman Jack Lempke became the first Bulldog to ever earn the WAC Freshman of the Year honor - an impressive feat for Parks first signee since taking over the program. Senior Clinton Shepard also picked up some hardware, earning second team all-conference accolades following an impressive season that saw him record six top 20 finishes. These accomplishments came just one year after Parks inaugural year on the job, a 2009-10 season that saw the Bulldogs open some eyes. After defeating seven top 100 ranked teams at the BancorpSouth Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss in early April, the Louisiana Tech golf team moved up into the top 100 in the Golfstat.com rankings. In 11 tournaments during the fall and spring, the Bulldogs recorded a mark of 78-76-3, including 23 wins over teams ranked in the Top 100 in the country. In the spring-only events, Tech was 49-34-1. Most of Tech’s damage against the Top 100 teams came towards the end of the year as the Bulldogs bested 15 ranked teams in its last four tournaments. Finding just the right lineup was a challenge for Parks as he saw seven of the 10 players on his roster record at least one Top 12 finish each this year. Parks and Co.’s most impressive performance might have come when they placed in a tie for fifth at the BancorpSouth Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss at Reunion Golf and Country Club. In that event, all five of the Bulldogs placed in the Top 40 out of 75 golfers as Tech defeated a total of seven Top
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