11 teams. One winner. 10 losers.
UTM!
UTM!
One winner.
The 2021 UT Martin golf team made their name heard at the OVC tournament on April 25-27. The tournament was located at The Shoals on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. It came down to two final shots that propelled the win for UT Martin, claiming their second OVC Championship (another one in 2016).
Jacob Uehlein, a junior from Tullahoma, Tennessee, was a part of the OVC Champion team this past year. Due to the unfortunate cancellations of COVID his freshman year, this was the first time he had been able to compete in the OVC tournament.
“We waited a long time, we were favored to win freshman year and it got taken away from us. We built ourselves for two years for this moment,” Uehlein said.
Leading up to it, the team was pretty confident in their play.
“We knew we won. Jack was the last person to come through. We watched the leaderboard as he landed on the green, made par, and it sealed the deal,” Uehlein said.
The moment itself was surreal to the team. The emotion behind the team’s efforts came to life as they announced the UT Martin golf team as OVC Champions. The importance was more than just about the game. It was about comradery, and it was about determination and the willingness to achieve what the team wanted.
“Guys stayed an extra year for this,” Uehlein said. “They postponed their start dates for their jobs, which made it really special to see how the hard work paid off.”
It was more than just the tournament. It was a life choice. It was an experience that can never be forgotten nor happen the same again. The team’s efforts had been of two years and certainly had a light at the end of the tunnel.
Other than the team’s ability to win, they also are a super close-knit group. They are always around each other during their regular training schedule, yet they hang out far beyond that. Their team chemistry also had a big factor in their success when it all came together. They all had the faith and perseverance to overcome the COVID year and come back with a win.
“It’s almost like being a big family instead of a team,” Uehlein said.
Indeed, that big family won an OVC title.
