The promotion of then-assistant Sara Robson to women’s head coach when Austin Peay chose to divide its golf programs in the Summer 2004 was a studied one. That decision has proven to be the right one, as Robson has led the Lady Govs to much success over the past decade.
Robson is her 10th Lady Govs head coaching season after serving two seasons as the combined programs assistant. Throughout the past seven seasons, Robson has guided the Lady Govs to 15 18-hole team records, 10 36-hole team records and 16 54-hole team records. Individually, Robson’s golfers have set seven 18-hole marks, eight 36-hole records as well as seven 54-hole records. In all, Robson’s teams account for nearly 75 team or individual APSU records.
In Spring 2013, the young Lady Govs placed fifth in the OVC championships for a third straight season. It was one of three Top 5 finishes for the Lady Govs a year ago, a season that freshman Jessica Cathey , who fired a hole-in-one on the Par 3 No. 11 hole during the second day of last season’s OVC tournament,earned All-OVC while also being named to the OVC All-Newcomer team.
The Lady Govs also earned the OVC Sportsmanship Award for women’s golf and gained Public Recognition from the NCAA for its perfect 1000 APR multi-year score.
In 2011-12, Robson’s Lady Govs placed fifth in the OVC championships, one of six top-five finishes for the Lady Govs that season. Austin Peay women’s golf also earned the OVC’s Sportsmanship Award and a fourth straight OVC Team Academic honor. Freshman Lauren Bond earned a spot on the All-Newcomer team.
Robson’s team recorded eight top-five tournament finishes during 2010-11, led by senior Chelsea Harris who also was the Lady Govs only All-OVC selection. With Harris earning her fourth-straight OVC All-Tourney honors for fifth-place individual finish, the Lady Govs shot a 948 for fifth place. In fact, the three-round 948 was APSU’s best-ever three-round OVC tournament total.
The 2009-10 season saw Robson’s hard work manifested in Harris being named the OVC Player of the Year. Not only did Harris earn the top player award, she also took home medalist honors at the OVC Tournament, winning by five strokes. As a team, the Lady Govs earned a fourth-place finish, their best tourney finish under Robson.
That strong finish was expected as Robson’s team notched the program’s top two team 54-hole records. The first came at the Murray State Drake Creek Invitational, where they finished fourth as a team with a 932. The Lady Govs were one stroke off that pace with a 933, in the spring, at the EKU Lady Colonel Classic.
Her first two seasons as the Lady Govs head coach showed a steady improvement for a program that would quickly become established in the league. Robson led Austin Peay to an improved stroke average in each of those seasons, working to develop a foundation on which to build for the future.
She brought in local standout Staci Lynch for the 2006-07 season and was not disappointed. As a freshman, Lynch was the Lady Govs top scorer in 11 of 12 tournaments, finishing with eight top-10 finishes. She won two tournaments – the Great Smokies Women’s Collegiate, where she set the program’s 36-hole record at 140, and the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate. Lynch finished with a 76.3 stroke average, which remains the best of any Robson-coached golfer, and was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.
During that season, the Lady Govs had three top-five and seven top-10 finishes: the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate, the Troy Women’s Intercollegiate, the Ann Rhoads/BSC Shootout, Belmont Intercollegiate, the Saluki Invitational, the EKU Spring Invitational and the OVC Championship.
The Lady Govs had six top-10 and two top-five finishes in 2007-08, led this time by another freshman, Chelsea Harris. The Metropolis, Ill, native posted a 78.96 scoring average and became the second Lady Govs player to earn All-OVC honors in as many years. Harris also was named to the OVC All-Newcomer team and finished third at the OVC Championship with a 234.
The 2008-09 season was a banner year for the Lady Govs. Harris was named first-team All-OVC while earning OVC All-Tournament ho nors with a fifth-place finish at the event. The Lady Govs recorded a .321 team stroke average, improving by almost three strokes over the previous season. They set four 54-hole team records, including a 953 at the Chris Banister Gamecock Classic. Harris recorded seven top-10 finishes and set three 54-hole individual marks – the best coming at the Eat-A-Peach Collegiate where she fired a three-round 230 to finish second.
Even with each season’s improvement, Robson has instilled in her team the ability to look forward and prepare for the real goal – an OVC Championship.
Robson’s impact on the Lady Govs has seen success not only on the golf course, but also in the classroom. In fact, during the 2008-09 season Lady Govs sophomore Catie Tucker was named to the National Golf Association Division I All-American Scholar team and received the OVC Medal of Honor for highest GPA in a conference-sponsored sport. Tucker, who was one six APSU golfers named to the 08-09 OVC Commissioners Honor Roll, also received the Perkins Freeman Governors Club Scholarship.
The 2009-10 team had three players – Tucker, Ashley Wathen and Catherine Smith – named to the NGCA All-American Scholar team. The Lady Govs followed that by winning the OVC’s Academic Achievement Award for the third-straight year in 2010-11. That team’s 3.691 GPA was the NGCA’s 12th-highest among nearly 400 teams across the country. Three Lady Govs – Tucker, Holly Batey and Tabitha Beard – earned 4.0 GPAs and received the OVC Medal of Honor. Tucker, in fact, graduated with the Governors Club Academic Achievement Award, owning the highest GPA of APSU senior athletes.
These high academic standards have been the norm for Robson’s teams throughout her tenure. In any given semester, the Lady Govs have never had fewer than three golfers earn some kind of academic distinction.
Robson came to APSU from Belmont, where she served one season as a student assistant after playing for the program from 1998-2001. Her duties as assistant included keeping team statistics and assisting the head coach in all administrative aspects.
In the summers of 2001 and 2002, Robson was assistant academy director for the Indiana Golf Association. There, she was a group mentor and taught designated programs and clinics. Robson is currently certified as a class A status in LPGA Teaching ranks and as a club professional. Previously, she was a junior golf office assistant for the Tennessee Golf Foundation.
The Metropolis, Ill., native graduated in May 2002 from Belmont with a degree in religion and elementary education. She is married to Eric Robson, and the couple welcomed their first child, Kaitlyn Hope (alias Boomer), on July 27, 2012.
