Mark Guhne (pronounced JUNE) took the reins of the Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team in 2005 and has led his alma mater to unprecedented heights in men's golf. He has spearheaded a consistent presence in the national rankings.

His impact is not only felt in one area of the program. The squad has excelled in each area of the UTC Athletics Mission Statement which is to "guide, encourage and support our Student-Athletes in their quest for comprehensive excellence - academically, athletically and socially. Above all else, we prepare Students for productive and meaningful lives."

With 16 team and 12 individual wins, a strong academic achievement record and a solid presence in the community, it's easy to see his commitment to establishing comprehensive excellence as the UTC standard.

ATHLETICALLY
During Guhne's tenure, the Mocs have been ranked No. 1 in the nation twice and won a NCAA Regional. Enough said? Not hardly.

In 2012, four different individuals won five events – two collegiate. It included NCAA Regional and SoCon Championships by Stephan Jaeger and two Scottish summer titles: Tennant Cup (Liam Johnston) and North East Open (Chris Robb). Oh and Steven Fox captured the United States Amateur.

Four of Chattanooga's five Southern Conference Championships have been under his guidance winning in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012. His charges not only swept team and medalist honors at the 2012 SoCon Championship, but they followed it up with an epic sweep at the NCAA Bowling Green Regional coming from behind to beat the likes of UCLA, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Clemson.

Six of his seven teams have advance to NCAA Regional play. Twice, 2009 and 2012, the Mocs moved on to compete in the NCAA Championship finishing 18th both times at Inverness in 2009 and Riviera Country Club in 2012.

He has recruited and helped develop two All-Americans. Jaeger is the most recent earning first team honors in 2012, while former teammate Jonathan Hodge made the second team in 2008.

Guhne has mentored five of the last six SoCon Golfers of the Year in Hodge and Jaeger. Hodge won the award in 2007 and 2008, while Jaeger is the only student-athlete in league history to win it three times.

Jaeger is the jewel of the Guhne years as the most decorated student-athlete in the program's history. He holds virtually every tournament, season and career record of note. His four career wins along with Hodge (3) rank 1-2 among the all-time leaders.

But the program was not built on just two student-athletes. Six different golfers have wins under Guhne accounting for 12 overall. The team's 16 overall wins include five postseason. The big regular season victory came just down the road at The Farm in Rocky Face, Ga., as Guhne's Mocs won the prestigious Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic, in 2008.

That win spurred the first No. 1 ranking in school history. The second came a year later in 2009. The top final team ranking is No. 12 (Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index) in 2008 with another top 25 in 2009 (No. 25). The 2012 team just missed out ending up No. 27 on Golfstat.

That 2007-08 team had a remarkable year in earning the No. 12 final ranking. It won a program-record five times with three medalist honors by Hodge, another school record later tied by Jaeger in 2012.

Guhne has four SoCon Coach of the Year awards - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 - in his seven seasons with the top ranked team in the league over the last six. He was also named 2009 Eaton/Golf Pride East Region Coach of the Year.

He's had 10 PING All-East Region selections highlighted by Jaeger's four appearances and Derek Rende's three. Those two are four-time All-SoCon selections which accounts for eight of Guhne's 19 all-league members.

The 2011-12 team will be long remembered for the postseason title run as well as the remarkable effort by Jaeger. His three wins tied Hodge's season record and his 22-under par total for the season led to first team All-American honors.

Fox offered on of the top highlights of the campaign. His second round 64 (-8) set the course record at the Club at Olde Stone at the Bowling Green Regional.

Jaeger became the first Mocs golfer since Donnie Green in 1978 to win the SoCon Championship and did so tying Brad Faxon's (Furman) record for margin of victory (11 shots). He also set the school 54-hole record shooting 13-under par 203 in winning the NCAA Bowling Green Regional.

Guhne's had several individuals ranked among the nation's leaders year-in and year-out. Jaeger ended the 2012 season ranked No. 12 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index which is another program best for the German.

Hodge's No. 26 in 2008 is second to Jaeger, but it is also the only time the Mocs have had three top 100 performers in the same season. Rende (74) and Fredrik Qvicker (88) joined Hodge as the squad boasted four All-Southern Conference performers with that trio and Ben Rickett.

Guhne's 2010-11 squad showcased his ability to continue moving the program forward.  His No. 1-ranked squads did so with a remarkably similar roster.  This one followed those years with just one junior (Jaeger) and a sophomore (Fox) to go with three freshmen in the lineup.

That group had the fewest losses in Guhne's six seasons with just 41 in 11 events.  The young squad had many memorable moments.  They knocked off three top 15 programs in national runner-up Georgia, Stanford and Iowa in a week's time finishing second at the Linger Longer and LSU National Invites to Alabama and LSU, respectively.

As part of the growth of the student-athlete, Guhne encourages aggressive summer tournament schedules. During his tenure, five players have qualified for the U.S. Amateur, three in 2007 in Hodge, Rende and Bryce Ledford. Jaeger qualified in 2011 and Fox won it in 2012. 

Qvicker finished as low amateur at the 2007 Scandanavian Masters, while Rickett qualified for the 2007 English Amateur, finishing in the final 16, and the 2008 British and English Ams. Rickett, Qvicker and Jaeger all advanced to match play at the Amateur together in 2009.

Rende won the 2007 Tennessee State Open and then followed in 2008 with a win at the Tennessee State Amateur. Hodge qualified for the Western Refining All-American in 2008 and played a phenomenal summer schedule which included a third-round finish at the North/South Amateur. Jaeger was a wild-card entry in the 2011 BMW International Open on the European Tour.

Fox won the 2011 Tennessee Match Play Championship. He made a run at the 2009 Tennessee Open title finishing tied for second to Ledford and was a semi-finalist at the 2010 Match Play Championship. He and incoming freshman Kory Webb won their qualifiers for the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.

ACADEMICALLY
Chattanooga's men's golf team takes the term student-athlete to heart. The team yearly posts one of the athletic department's top team GPA's and in 2012 received national notice.

The squad achieved a perfect multi-year APR score of 1,000 for the period 2008-11. It became the first program in UTC history to attain the mark.

While maintaining eligibility and graduating is important in athletics, the Mocs have excelled in the classroom. Every student-athlete that Guhne has brought to Chattanooga and completed eligibility has graduated.

During the 2008-11 time period, the Mocs had two All-America scholars in Jaeger and Rende along with multiple Academic All-SoCon, Dean's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll mentions. The team's commitment to the classroom mirrors its play on the course.

Four Mocs earned Dean's List mention (Jaeger, Robb, Davis Bunn, Alex Ratliff) and another two joined the quartet on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in 2011-12. That's six of seven team members with a 3.0 or better.

Jaeger took UTC's top academic honor in 2012 winning the Dayle May Award. It goes to the senior male and female student-athletes with the best cumulative grade point average.

The team has had numerous SoCon All-Academic members to go with countless Dean's List and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls. And as long as Guhne is in charge, that won't change.

SOCIALLY
His teams are active in the community as well with several projects, but one has become a major project. The Mocs have been very active the last two years with the City of Chattanooga Parks & Recreation Therapeutic Recreation Services C.H.I.P.S. program.

C.H.I.P.S. Golf is one of the many programs Therapeutic Recreation Services facilitates for individuals who have disabilities.  C.H.I.P.S. makes it possible for anyone regardless of his or her disability to be able to play the game of golf.

UTC student-athletes have been active playing rounds on regular basis with the C.H.I.P.S. golfers. The team also hosted a golf skills open house for the group prior to the 2011 NCAA Colorado Regional at the Player Development Complex.

In 2012, Jaeger coordinated the team's efforts making certain there was an active presence at C.H.I.P.S. events. It is just another example of how Guhne continues his efforts in establishing comprehensive excellence as the Mocs standard.

Guhne was elevated to the head coaching position on March 1, 2005, after three seasons serving as assistant coach to Reed Sanderlin. A PGA professional, Guhne has earned Class A status and was the 2007 Horton Smith Award winner. He was elected president of the Chattanooga chapter of the PGA in 2008.

Among his playing accomplishments, Guhne was selected to the 2007 Tennessee Challenge Cup team. In 2003 and 2004, he represented Tennessee in the Tennessee vs. Georgia PGA Cup Matches.

Mark and his wife Kelly are both Chattanooga graduates with each earning degrees in 1984. The couple resides in Hixson, Tenn. He is an avid fisherman in his spare time and is regaining his amateur status as a golfer.

GUHNE AT A GLANCE

Alma Mater:  Chattanooga '84

COACHING RECORD

HONORS
2006 SoCon Coach of the Year
2007 SoCon Coach of the Year
2008 SoCon Coach of the Year
2009 Eaton/Golf Pride East Region Coach of the Year
2012 SoCon Coach of the Year

NCAA APPEARANCES
REGIONALS:  2007 East, 2008 East, 2009 South Central, 2010 Southwest, 2011 Colorado, 2012 Bowling Green
CHAMPIONSHIP:  2009, 2012

TEAM TITLES
2005-06: Re/Max UTC Fall Cl.
2006-07: Rio Pinar Int., Wexford Int., USA Spring Classic, SoCon Champ.
2007-08: Coca-Cola Duke Golf Cl., Cleveland Palmetto Int., Furman Int., Bank of America Int., SoCon Champ.
2008-09: Aldila Scenic City Inv., Carpet Capital Coll., SoCon Champ.
2009-10: Cleveland Golf Palmetto Int.
2011-12: SoCon Champ., NCAA Bowling Green Regional

INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS
2005-06: Bryce Ledford, Re/Max UTC Fall Cl.
2006-07: Derek Rende, USA Spring Cl.
2007-08: Jonathan Hodge, Coca-Cola Duke Golf Cl., Cleveland Palmetto Int., Furman Int.
2009-10: Steven Fox, Furman Int. (Co-Medalist)
2010-11: Chris Robb, Springhill Suites Coll.; Stephan Jaeger, LSU National Inv.
2011-12: Stephan Jaeger, Golfweek Conference Champ., SoCon Champ., NCAA Bowling Green Reg.

ALL-AMERICA
2008: Jonathan Hodge, 2nd Team
2012: Stephan Jaeger, 1st Team

PING ALL-REGION
2008: Jonathan Hodge, Derek Rende
2009: Stephan Jaeger, Derek Rende, Ben Rickett
2010: Stephan Jaeger, Derek Rende
2011: Stephan Jaeger
2012: Stephan Jaeger, Steven Fox

CLEVELAND GOLF/SRIXON ALL-AMERICA SCHOLARS
2009: Derek Rende
2010: Derek Rende
2011: Stephan Jaeger
2012: Stephan Jaeger

SoCON PLAYER of the YEAR
2007: Jonathan Hodge
2008: Jonathan Hodge
2010: Stephan Jaeger
2011: Stephan Jaeger
2012: Stephan Jaeger

SoCON FRESHMAN of the YEAR
2007: Derek Rende
2009: Stephan Jaeger

ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
2006: Jonathan Hodge, Bryce Ledford
2007: Jonathan Hodge, Bryce Ledford, Derek Rende
2008: Jonathan Hodge, Fredrik Qvicker, Derek Rende, Ben Rickett
2009: Stephan Jaeger, Derek Rende, Ben Rickett
2010: Stephan Jaeger, Derek Rende
2011: Steven Fox, Stephan Jaeger, Benni Weilguni
2012: Steven Fox, Stephan Jaeger