Towson University Athletics

Sixth-year head coach Kate Schanuel has the Towson women's golf program on a steady rise up the leaderboard. The former two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference golfer and four-year letterwinner for the University of Maryland knows what it takes to build a strong collegiate program and she's doing just that for the Tigers, who are in their 11th year of existence.
 
During her time at the helm of the Tigers, Schanuel has lifted the program to excellence bolstered by consecutive program-record setting seasons, 216 victories, 15 top five finishes and four tournament championships since the start of the 2013-14 season.

The Tigers enjoyed a strong 2015-16 season in which they set a program record of 87 victories and won 56 percent of their matches. Towson enjoyed six top-five finishes including a championship in the 19-team Tignanelli Towson Invitational. They tied for second at the Navy Fall Invitational, finished second at the Lady EagleCat Invitational and played to a third place finish in the Lehigh Invitational.

The Tigers opened their year on a positive note at Penn State's Nittany Lion Invitational where they shot a 54-hole school record 915.

The Tiger women's golf team posted some of the best numbers in program history in 2014-15. They tallied 81 wins, which was their most ever at that time and their 54.3 winning percentage was the second best in program history. Among the individual highlights was Krissy Unger’s school-record 70 at the Kiwah Invitational.
 
In the fall of 2014, Schanuel led the Tigers to four top-five finishes in five events and her players finished among the top three individuals in four different events. The Tigers won the 2014 Navy Fall Invitational by firing a 922 (308-307-307) during the 54-hole event. Towson also carded a round of 303, the second best team round in program history, while tying for the team title at the 2014 Tignanelli Invitational.

Freshman Mackenzie Rice placed second at the 2014 Tignanelli Invitational and Unger carded the second best round in school history when her first round 72 helped her place second at the 2014 Navy Fall Invitational.

During the 2013-14 season, Schanuel saw her team's win total nearly double from the year before and the Tigers matched their best ever finish in the CAA Tournament (sixth-place).

Towson won the 2014 DSU Spring Invitational and also placed among the top-five at the 2013 Navy Chesapeake Bay Invitational, 2013 Lady Blue Hen Invitational and the 2014 Red Flash Invitational.
 
Larissa Spiess won the 2013 Navy Chesapeake Bay Invitational and Emma Hjarne won the 2014 DSU Spring Invitational while carding a then-school record 71 (-2) during the second round of play.

Under Schanuel's leadership, the Tigers have also excelled in the classroom. Rice, Spiess and Unger have been named Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars and Spiess was also selected to the CAA All-Academic Team.

Schanuel started her coaching career at Towson as an assistant coach before taking over as the women's head coach at the start of the 2011 spring season. That season was highlighted by Airielle Dawson’s impressive performance at the 25th Annual PGA of America Minority Collegiate Golf Championship. Dawson became the first golfer in program history, male or female, to win a national title at Towson.

In her first event as head coach, Schanuel led the Tigers to a team win at the 2011 Lonnie Barton Memorial Invitational. In that event, Emily Kwak became the first women's golfer at Towson to earn medalist honors.

An All-ACC player and All-Academic selection, Schanuel graduated in 2007 with a degree in Kinesiology. She was the top golfer for the Terrapins her junior and senior years. Schanuel won several tournaments including the Taco Bell Intercollegiate (East Carolina), the Wolverine Invitational (Michigan) and the Lady Jaguar Invitational (Augusta State).

The 211 (69-67-76) round she shot at East Carolina included her best 54-hole score and 18-hole round of her career. A former team captain for the Terrapins, Schanuel led Maryland in scoring average twice, 77.2 in her junior year and 73.6 in her final season. Her low finish in the ACC Tournament was a tie for fourth.

Schanuel finished second at the 2005 Women's Eastern Amateur Championship and was second at the 2006 Connecticut Amateur Championship.

The first female golfer at Maryland to turn pro, she competed on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. After qualifying school, Schanuel earned exempt status and played in 14 events.

Prior to joining Towson's staff she coached the girls' team at the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, Md.

A native of Guilford, Conn., Schanuel was the only girl on an all-boys team at Guilford High School where she was team captain and team MVP in her last two years. Schanuel was also named All-State in 2002. She qualified for the boys' state championship and she tied for sixth at the league championships as a junior by shooting a 76.

Her two younger sisters, Brooke and Morgan, played for the newly formed Guilford girls’ team. Brooke began her collegiate career at Rutgers before transferring to William & Mary (2009-12). Morgan competed for the Tribe from 2007-11.
 

Schanuel's Head Coaching History
Year	School	Record	Postseason
2015-16	Towson	87-66-1	7th
2014-15	Towson	81-61-1	7th
2013-14	Towson	48-70	6th
2012-13	Towson	27-103	9th
2011-12	Towson	9-81	N/A
2010-11 (spring season only)	Towson	25-40-1	8th