SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University's women's golf team, coming off the best season in program history, takes to the links Monday to open the 2012 season by hosting the 22-team, 54-hole Circling Raven Invitational at Circling Raven Golf Course in nearby Worley, Idaho.
Action starts both days at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start. The 54-hole tournament will include 36 holes Monday and 18 holes Tuesday.
Bulldog head coach Brad Rickel is excited to get started, the Bulldogs returning five players off a team that finished second in the West Coast Conference Championship last spring.
"I think we're ahead of last year. We have some veterans who are leading the way. Two freshmen have come in and played their way into the top five for this tournament immediately. It's really early in the year and I'm excited to see how they compete," Rickel said on the eve of the opener.
Junior Victoria Fallgren, who won this event as a true freshman when it was played at Hangman Valley Golf Course, will play as No. 1 for the Bulldogs. Alice Kim, a freshman from Honolulu will be at No. 2; Jessica Howe, one of two seniors on the team, will play No. 3; Han Wu, a freshman from Los Angeles, will play No. 4, and sophomore Tai Jade 'TJ' Kliebphipat will play No. 5. Senior Stephanie Corey will play as an individual.
Junior Genavive 'Genna' Dodge will not play this fall as she rehabilitates from off-season shoulder surgery.
Rickel, beginning his fifth season since returning as the women's head coach only - he was the men's and women's coach for the 1998-99 season - has what is truly his team.
"All of these people have only played for me and were recruited by me. Our team, top to bottom, has similar goals. They are all great players, have similar goals and desire, and they all have high golf goals," Rickel said.
The success the Bulldogs had last year hopefully will carry over to this season, according to Rickel.
"It's a huge carryover. The older players have tasted a little bit of success and want a lot more. They also know we probably didn't do as much last year as we could have, so they think this year is our year to really jump up the rankings and make a dent. The freshmen that are here came here for that reason so it's a big deal for us," Rickel said.
Another tough schedule awaits the Bulldogs, who will be at the Cougar Cup in Pullman, Wash., hosted by Washington State University next week, followed by stops at the Rose City Collegiate in Aurora, Ore., and the UW Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash., as the first four events are in the Pacific Northwest.
"Our schedule is similar to last year. We do have a couple of tournaments we feel we should show up looking to try and win the tournament right from the get go, and we have a couple of national tournaments where we have to go in and show we can play with the best of the best. While the schedule is similar, I think we have the understanding we belong in this schedule so we look to make a few dents here and there," Rickel said of the prognosis for this season.
Playing the first two matches of the fall season so close to home favors the Bulldogs as they hope to get off to a fast start.
"We play our first four tournaments in the Northwest and we have very little travel for the first four events. I think it's huge because we have a couple of freshmen. We're going to get to play a lot of our team early and everybody is going to get a chance to get some competition. I think it's the perfect way to start the season," Rickel said.
Rickel, last year's WCC women's golf coach of the year, said the strength of this team "is they have youthful enthusiasm, high goals and because they have all played for me they understand what we are trying to do and how we're going to try and go about doing it. We're all on the same page."
Like everybody else, execution on the course will be the difference.
"Like everybody else we have to make certain our short game is as good as it can be. We have to make sure we can have the best practice rounds we can so we understand the golf course. The big thing we didn't do last year that we need to do is be more consistent. We had three tournaments last year where we just didn't play up to our abilities and it probably cost us 15 spots in the rankings. We have to start and continue through the season with better consistency," Rickel said.
One of the teams returning to the Circling Raven field is BYU, which officially became a member of the West Coast Conference July 1. BYU's presence makes an immediate impact on the WCC, according to Rickel.
"BYU definitely adds a real good program to our conference. They are always a highly ranked program and they are always a good team. They make our conference that much better and that much tougher to win," Rickel predicted.
Rickel also said the return of Dodge in the spring will make the competition for spots all that much tougher.
"Once she's back I think it will be an absolute dog fight to get into the lineup which is what we need to be our best. Everyone is going to have to be their best in qualifying and in tournaments so it will only serve to make us better," he said.
CIRCLING RAVEN INVITATIONAL FACTS
WHAT: Circling Raven Collegiate Invitational
WHERE: Circling Raven Golf Course - Worley, Idaho
WHEN: September 12-13, 2011
FORMAT: 54 holes - 36 holes Monday, Sept. 12; 18 holes Tuesday, Sept. 13
8 a.m. PDT Shotgun Start Both Days
COURSE: 6,111 yards - Par 72
FIELD: Gonzaga University (host), Boise State University, University of British Columbia, BYU, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Washington University, University of Hawai'i, University of Montana, Montana State University, Northern Arizona University, Portland State University, Sacramento State University, University of San Francisco, Samford University, Seattle University, Southern Utah University, UC Riverside, Utah Valley University, Washington State University, Weber State University, Xavier University.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Northern Arizona University (2009 and 2010). NAU won scorecard playoff with BYU last season.
