Women's Golf Looks To Build On Successful 2013 Campaign
9/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
SPRINGVILLE, Utah - Fresh off the best season in school history, Gonzaga University's women's golf team tees off on the 2014 season Monday at the Hobble Creek Invitational hosted by West Coast Conference foe BYU.
The 14-team tournament tees of Monday with 36 holes and concludes with Tuesday's final 18-hole round.
In addition to BYU, Gonzaga will also get an early-season look at WCC teams University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University. The rest of the field includes Utah Valley University, University of British Columbia, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge, Dixie State University, Grand Canyon University, Idaho State University, New Mexico State University, Southern Utah University and Weber State University.
Unlike most years, this has been a quick turnaround for the Bulldogs who just returned to campus 10 days ago to get ready to start classes Tuesday and were on an airplane Saturday. But head coach Brad Rickel thinks his squad, which features five returnees, showed up ready.
"I think everybody showed up ready to play golf, they played hard all summer and worked hard at it. They are all ready. We just have to mix in that first week of school and everything that comes with it; moving into new places, starting new classes, doing all the things that comes with that first week and being ready to leave that first weekend and be ready to go. We have to make sure we take care of business and are ready to go when we get there," said the eighth-year Bulldog coach.
Most of all, the quick turnaround didn't give Rickel a chance to hold qualifying to set his line-up, having to go on last year and this past summer to set his roster.
"We're going to use last year. There are some players who just played so good all year long that they are in the line-up. We'll use some of their summer experiences in tournaments. We're going to take an individual to the first tournament so they are all going to play. I think our team is to the point where anybody one through six can be in the lineup," Rickel noted.
With that said, the line-up with have sophomore Raychelle Santos playing No. 1, junior Alice Kim at No. 2, junior Han Wu at No. 3, freshman Ciera Min at No. 4 and senior Tai Jade "TJ" Kliebphipat at No. 5. Sophomore Angela De Villa will play as an individual.
Last season the Bulldogs made their inaugural trip to the NCAA Tournament, heading to Stillwater, Okla., for the Central Regional and finishing 19th in the 24-team field. Along the way the Bulldogs set a host of records:
· Lowest single-season scoring average of 74.34 by Santos (old 76.23 by Victoria Fallgren)
· Tied individual lowest round with Santos and Kim each firing a 67 during the season
· Lowest individual 36-hole total of 139 by Kim and Wu (old 144 held by four players)
· Lowest 54-hole total of 210 by Wu (old 217 by Victoria Fallgren)
· Team tournament titles with four
· Lowest team single-season scoring average of 300.38 (old 308.17 in 2011-12)
· Lowest team round of 279 (old (293 in 2012)
· Lowest team 54-hole total of 862 (old 896 in 2008)
In addition, Gonzaga finished second in the West Coast Conference Championship for the second time in three seasons. Santos finished second in the individual chase and was joined on the All-WCC team by Fallgren (6th), Kim (tie for 7th) and WU (9th), giving Gonzaga its best individual showing ever in the WCC Championship.
Rickel addressed last season in his first team meeting this season.
"At our opening meeting we brought out all the stats and all the records we broke and all the great things we did, and now we're going to go about goal setting to find bigger goals," he said. "What I told the team is we went from a team that sort of showed up at a golf tournament and people thought Gonzaga is here and they are pretty good, and now Gonzaga's women's golf team carries a different weight to it when we get there so we have to live up to that."
The loss of seniors Fallgren and Genavive "Genna" Dodge leaves a leadership void in the short term.
"I think we're going to search for leadership. Victoria was such a clear leader for two or three years, not only by her personality but she was clearly the best golfer as well. Raychelle came in and played right with her and set our all-time record for scoring average. Even though she's a sophomore she is going to be a bit of a leader on the golf course. We're going to search for identity for awhile. Victoria is still around as an assistant so hopefully that will help the transition," Rickel said.
Fallgren joined Rickel as an assistant coach this past summer.
The Hobble Creek Golf Course, which will play par 71 and just over 6,000 yards, is new to Rickel and the team.
"None of us have been there. It's high altitude, higher than here which is odd for us to play. I don't know much about it. We look forward to having a great practice round which will be the key to our success," Rickel said.
