The women’s golf team feels no extra pressure even though it is a “newbie” in one of the most elite athletics programs in the nation. Instead, in their second season as a varsity sport, the Bears have measured up against the best in the nation.
Back-to-back first place finishes at the Wartburg Fall Invitational and the IWU Fall Classic included victories over five NCAA Division III opponents ranked in the top 20 of the NGCA Coaches Poll. Currently, the Bears are ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III head-to-head rankings, and the program has emerged as a contender for an at-large bid to the NCAA National Championship played in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., from May 11-14, 2010.
Head coach Sean Curtis, named the University’s first head women’s golf coach Feb. 8, 2008, credited the culture of both athletics and academics at Washington University for pushing his team to pursue excellence.
“The players know that Washington University offers the best of both worlds, and I encourage the recruits to look around on the athletics Web site and get a feel for the success of our athletics department. We want to be like the other teams, and in a joking way, we are under a little pressure to do well because, like everything else at this University, if you are committing to something, then we do it the right way,” Curtis said.
Although the inaugural season began in fall 2008, John Schael, WUSTL athletic director since 1978, laid the groundwork several years prior to 2008, including sponsoring the club golf team, which had three semesters as an emerging varsity program from the spring of 2007 to the start of the varsity program.
Curtis noted the effort to recruit athletes for the program in the early going: “The athletics program had to advertise and let the students know we were fielding a women’s golf team. … The athletic department spearheaded the effort, utilizing the golf club, and we actually put an advertisement in the Student Life [newspaper]. And then, my job was to go through admissions, sort through those who were accepted and had checked being interested in golf, and recruit them to play for the Bears. That is how we had found our current sophomores, and we were fortunate in finding athletes who can compete at a very high level.”
The athletes responded to the call with 11 players on the team in the first year of varsity competition. Five of those players had qualified for their state championships in high school, and two were on high-school state championship teams. The Bears’ inaugural season exceeded expectations as WUSTL ended the season ranked 38th out of 157 schools in the NCAA head-to-head rankings.
The Bears placed in the top five in seven of 10 events, and won the McKendree Fall Invitational. Kristina Zeschin, a senior co-captain from Englewood, Colo., placed eighth out of 104 at the 2009 Wartburg Fall Invitational, and she recalled last season, “We were always trying to gauge the competition, find the teams we should play against in the future, and determine what we needed to accomplish to start being a competitive team on the regional and national level. … We just all expected everyone to try their best, commit all they could to golf, and try to see if we could become competitive. The team was pleasantly surprised when we ended up in the top half of the national rankings at the end of the season.”
The sophomore season of the program has brought overwhelming success with the Bears posting a record of 128-6 against Division III schools while shooting as a team a 323.25 stroke average per round. Curtis described the team’s journey as one on “fast track probably ahead of the time schedule.”
His recruiting for this second season has brought in three new faces, including dominant freshman golfers Hannah Buck and Melanie Walsh. Women’s golf is another opportunity to pursue success at WUSTL, and like many student-athletes at Washington University, the Class of 2013 was looking for a university with a balance of premier athletics and academics.
Walsh, who has been playing competitive golf since the eighth grade, said: “First and foremost, I wanted to go to a great school. Academics were my main focus. But when I found out that I could attend an elite school and play competitive golf, I mean the decision was pretty much made for me. … I’m able to pursue my academic career, but still progress in the game I love.”
Buck, a Naperville, Ill., native, has fired eight-consecutive rounds at 80 or lower and has a team-best 77.00 average in the fall. Walsh, from Mt. Prospect, Ill., is averaging a score of 80.38 and picked up a second place finish at the IWU Fall Classic after completing the 36-hole event with a 153 (73-80).
The freshmen claim there is no rivalry between them. “Melanie’s my roommate as well as my teammate, so we spend a ton of time together. We occasionally will joke around about beating each other, but we are supportive of each other. I am really happy for her when she plays well, and I think she feels the same for me,” Buck said.
As a nontraditional sport, golf has fall and spring competition, with the latter taking more precedence. There are currently only two golf programs competing in the University Athletic Association, so the conference does not qualify for an automatic postseason bid. Instead, the Bears seek a Pool B or at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.
Curtis pointed out that fall competition is integral to an NCAA bid. “Golf is different in a lot of ways because even though it is a nontraditional sport, the fall contributes to success down the road in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee,” Curtis said, “The season can be a bit of a grind, but if you don’t play well now, your spring season will have to be that much better.”
Margaret Manning, a senior from St. Louis, averaging 82.63 in the fall, talked about being a key member of the new program: “The beginning of anything is an exciting time, but it is especially exciting that our young team is so competitive against golf programs from other schools that have been around for much longer.”
Zeschin echoes that sentiment: “We’re feeling pretty confident coming off two big wins, but there’s definitely been some stiff competition. Obviously we outplayed some great teams last weekend, but they’re always on our tail. Right now we have a big target on our back, which is a pretty exciting feeling. We’re a team to beat right now.”
Women’s soccer extends streak
The No. 15 women’s soccer team extended its winning streak to seven games with a pair of victories over Principia College, 7-2, and Division I Southeast Missouri State University, 4-1.
Senior Caryn Rosoff recorded a hat trick in both games. She leads the team in points with 20 and is second in goals with eight.
WUSTL (7-2) opens University Athletic Association play Sunday, Oct. 4, at Emory University.
Men’s soccer splits a pair last week
The men’s soccer team suffered its first loss, 3-2, at No. 8 Principia College Sept. 22.
The Bears rebounded to defeat Greenville College, 1-0, Sept. 25. Sophomore Kevin Privalle scored the first goal of his career.
The Bears (5-1-3) begin University Athletic Association competition Sunday, Oct. 4, at Emory University.
Volleyball begins conference season
The volleyball team split a pair of dual matches last week, falling at Division II University of Missouri-St. Louis, 3-1, Sept. 22 and then defeating Fontbonne University, 3-0, Sept. 23.
The Bears were back on track with a sweep over Fontbonne the next night.
Sophomore Lauren Budde paced the offense with 13 kills and a .357 hitting percentage.
WUSTL (12-3) begins University Athletic Association regular season competition Saturday, Oct. 3, taking on Brandeis University in Rochester, N.Y.
Cross country teams finish second
The men’s and women’s cross country teams turned in impressive performances to finish second at the Southern Illinois University Saluki Invitational Sept. 26 in Carbondale, Ill.
The men placed second out of a field of seven, while the women’s team was second out of six schools.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale took first in both races, while the men’s team defeated NCAA Division I Murray State University and the University of Evansville, and the women finished ahead of Evansville and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Both teams return to action Saturday, Oct. 3, for the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky.