Former Chattanooga Mocs golf star Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) continues her quest to join the LPGA Tour this week at Qualifying Tournament Stage II. The 72-hole tourney starts Tuesday, September 27, and runs through Friday, September 30.

de Groot is one of 240 players vying to advance to the final stage. The top 70 and ties move on and there is no cut involved in this stage.

The Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla., plays host to the four long days of competition.  It features two courses, Panther and Bobcat, to accommodate the large field. The Bobcat Course plays 6,493 yards at a par of 72, while the Panther Course is a little shorter at 6,226 yards, also with a par of 72.

Emma looks to build on her success from Stage I where she finished tied for fourth at 11-under par. She fired four sub-par rounds shooting 69, 70, 70 and 68 for her total of 277. She was the 2011 Southern Conference Golfer of the Year and six-time collegiate winner including the 2011 SoCon Championship.  She also earned all-league honors all four seasons in helping build the foundation for the fledgling Mocs program.

de Groot starts off No. 10 on Panther at 11:40 a.m., on Tuesday. She is paired with Megan McKinney and Melissa Mabanta.

Four Chattanooga Mocs earned All-American Scholar honors from the National Golf Coaches Association. Junior Maria Juliana Loza (Bucaramanga, Colombia) repeated on the team and was joined by a trio of freshmen: Jordan Britt (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Marion Duvernay (Publier, France).

"I am very pleased to have four of our six ladies recognized for their efforts in the classroom," stated head coach Colette Murray.  "If it were any other sport, all six would have made the list.  The NGCA requires a minimum 3.5 grade point average.  Two just missed...all six team members are at 3.33 or higher."

All six Chattanooga women's golfers made the Dean's List in 2010-11.  Seniors Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) and Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) add their names to the quartet above.  Loza and de Groot each posted 4.0 grade point averages this year.  Loza, a native of Colombia, has recorded an A in every class in her six semesters except one, English.

Loza and Duvernay are mechanical engineering majors.  Budhram and Britt have gone the medical route.  Budhram is majoring in psychology, while Britt is in the nursing program.

Chattanooga dominated on the course as well as in the classroom in 2010-11.  The Mocs had tied for a team best with four wins including repeating as Southern Conference Champions.  Wolf and de Groot each claimed medalist honors with de Groot becoming the first individual SoCon women's champ in school history.

UTC returned to NCAA Regional play for the fourth time in four years since the program was re-instated. It was the third consecutive appearance as a team tying for 12th at the NCAA Central Regional.  Loza just missed advancing to the NCAA Championship as an individual birdieing her final three holes - four of last six - to get into a playoff losing the berth on the first extra hole.