Marci Kornegay Quick Hits

Career Recap

• Sixth Season at USF
• Asst. Coach at South Carolina, Winthrop and LSU
• Four-year Letterman at Ole Miss

Coaching Accomplishments

• 2012 BIG EAST Coach of the Year 
• 2010 BIG EAST Coach of the Year
• 19 Academic All-America Winners
• Five Tournament Titles at USF
• Five Individual Tournament Winners at USF

Personal

• Graduated from Ole Miss in 2001
• Originally from Savannah, Ga.
• LPGA Professional and NGCA Member

The 2012-13 season is Marci Kornegay’s sixth as head coach of the University of South Florida women’s golf program. In her tenure, the Bulls have earned top-five finishes at four BIG EAST Championships, including the program's first BIG EAST Championship in 2012. The Bulls have won five tournament titles, had a student-athlete win an individual tournament title five times and earn an individual NCAA Regional bid twice. The Bulls also advanced to the NCAA Regionals as a team under Kornegay for the first time in 2012.

Off the course, Kornegay has made sure her student-athletes excel in the classroom as 10 student-athletes have earned a combined total of 19 NGCA Academic All-America awards. The Bulls also maintain the second highest GPA among all USF athletic programs.

The 2011-12 team was one for the ages. The team advanced to the NCAA Regionals after holding off Notre Dame by one stroke to capture the program's first BIG EAST Championship. Kornegay also captured her second BIG EAST Coach of the Year Award and mentored the BIG EAST Player of the Year in Christina Miller. Kornegay helped lead the team to multiple team and individual tournament titles.

The 2010-11 team finished in the top-five in three tournaments, including a third-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships. Sophomore Shena Yang continued to play exceptionally well, earning an individual title at the Sir Pizza Cards Challenge, placing in the top-10 in seven of 11 starts and earning her second bid to the NCAA East Regional in as many seasons.  She also posted a scoring average of 73.6, which broke her own school record set as a freshman in 2009-10.

Kornegay was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year for her work with the 2009-10 team that finished second at the conference championships, the best result for USF since the program joined the league in 2005. She also led the Bulls to five top-10 finishes in and four top-three performances. USF took the team championship at the JMU Eagle Landing Invite, where they shot an 898 combined score.

Kornegay helped mentor two outstanding players in Shena Yang and Rachel Edwards, who were each named to the All-BIG EAST Team. Yang advanced to the NCAA East Regionals and was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2009, and won the individual title at the FIU Pat Bradley Invite.

The 2008-09 team included nine out of 10 Big East All-Stars and five NGCA Academic All-Americans including Jessica Schnebly, Rachel Edwards, Ana Lopez, Emily VanEtten, and Carolina Romero. That was the most Academic All Americans USF has seen on a single team in school history.

After finishing a single shot out of the top three at the 2009 Big East Championship, Kornegay graduated two seniors, including standout golfer Gennifer Mendez.  Mendez currently represents Team Florida in many amateur events throughout the country.

Rachel Edwards was named BIG EAST Golfer of the Week honors twice that season, including once after carding a 2-under par performance at the JMU Eagle Landing Invitational.  That finish was the third lowest total in USF history since Golfstat began keeping records in 1993.

Kornegay and the Bulls finished in the top-10 eight times including a pair of second place finishes at the USF/Waterlefe Invitational and the Cincinnati Invitational. USF also had a pair of third place finishes at the Pat Bradley Invitational and the Eagle Landing Invitational.

During the 2007-08 season,  Kornegay’s first in Tampa,  was highlighted by a team win at the Pat Bradley Invitational in the fall and Kylene Pulley finished tied for first as an individual. Nine out of 11 golfers were selected to the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team and three golfers were named NGCA Academic All-Americans: Emily Van Etten, Ana Lopez and Jessica Schnebly.

Two of three seniors, Christina Jones and Kylene Pulley, obtained status to play on the LPGA Duramed FUTURES Tour as professionals and are currently playing their way onto the LPGA Tour.

Kornegay, who had five years of collegiate coaching experience prior to USF, joined the Bulls from South Carolina where she had been an assistant coach since 2004.

Her time at South Carolina was marked by success both on and off the course. In 2007 USC earned a fourth-place finish in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and earned a top 25 Golfstat ranking.

In both 2005 and 2006, the team was recognized as the NGCA All-Scholar Team of the Year. The team also set a new school record for highest combined grade point average in 2005 by posting a 3.832 GPA.

With Kornegay on the coaching staff, a Gamecock was honored with the 2006 Dinah Shore Trophy and another player was recognized as the 2006 SEC Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Prior to her time at South Carolina, Kornegay was the associate head golf coach at Winthrop University in 2003-2004, where she was the co-tournament director of three tournaments. She coached three Presidential Scholars and a handful of Big South Conference selections while working with both the men’s and women’s squads.

As a one-year assistant at Louisiana State University during the 2002-03 season, Kornegay served as the tournament director of the NCAA East Regional in 2002 and coached players with accolades such as the Dinah Shore Trophy, the Nancy Lopez Award, USGA Amateur Champion, the Women’s Western Amateur Champion and the North-South Amateur Champion.

Kornegay’s coaching philosophy is to develop and foster an environment for athletic, academic and social success. She wants to ensure that the student-athlete has competitive success as well as a positive overall collegiate experience upon graduating.

Kornegay was a four-year letter winner at the University of Mississippi. She appeared on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in all four years, highlighted by a spot on the Dean’s List in 2001. She was the team captain and won team leadership awards in 2000 and 2001. Prior to Ole Miss, Kornegay attended Savannah Christian High School (Savannah, Ga.),

The Bulls’ head coach is a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Golf Fitness Instructor and an LPGA Class A teaching professional and a member of the National Golf Coaches Association.  Before obtaining her LPGA T&CP Membership, Kornegay earned medalist honors at the 2004 USGA Mid-Am Qualifying and participated in the 2005 Southern Women’s Amateur.

Kornegay's Coaching Philosophy
I will prepare each student-athlete with the necessary tools to compete at the highest level and to graduate with confidence to lead. I will maintain a positive team culture for student-athlete success by focusing on positive reinforcement, innovation, honesty, and growth through the game of golf. I will promote to the public the values of our team, the university, and the NCAA with loyalty and integrity. The best interest of our team is my priority; as a member of this team, it requires a commitment to trust in my leadership.

USF Women's Golf Mission Statement
USF women’s golf will represent the ideal student-athlete by developing outstanding young women who excel in all aspects of college life. As a student, we will abide by academic integrity and pursue degrees with high honor. As an athlete, we will compete with intensity and play by the rules. As student-athletes, we will promote the game of golf and serve our community as loyal ambassadors to our USF family. Upon graduation, we will have prepared ourselves to live as winners and lead as champions.