Jan. 30, 2007

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - Former Union College standout Eric Wyrick has been hired on to take over the Bulldog and Lady Bulldog golf programs, Union Director of Athletics Darin S. Wilson announced Tuesday.

"We are excited about being able to bring Eric on staff to lead our golf programs," Wilson said. "As a former golfer at Union, he knows the program very well, and with his knowledge and expertise of the game, the programs as well as the conference, I am confident that he will build on the teams' successful pasts and take them to the next level."

A 2006 graduate of Union, Wyrick was a four-time Appalachian Athletic Conference All-Conference Team member. As a freshman, he helped the Bulldogs to the 2003 AAC Championships, the program's first conference title since 1972.

"I am excited about this opportunity since I got to play here as a student-athlete," Wyrick said. "The program gave so much to me over the years, so now I want to give back to the program."

The Bulldogs have been a regular contender for the AAC crown year-in and year-out. The Lady Bulldogs, an independent member of NAIA Region XII, were a dominant program not long ago, making back-to-back NAIA National Championship Tournament appearances in 2003 and 2004. However, in recent years, the Lady Bulldogs have struggled field a full squad.

I definitely want to get the women's program back to where it was and return to the national tournament," Wyrick said. "For the men, I want to get them to that level. I'd like to see them regularly winning events and be a competitive squad."

The Union men's team placed sixth in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament and seventh in the NAIA Region XII Tournament  in 2006.