Jayhawks focus on short game strategy
Team places 11th in Arizona and concentrates on pre-championship play
The Big 12 tournament looms on the horizon.
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
The women’s golf team placed 11th in the Tuscon, Ariz., Mountain View Collegiate tournament last weekend, and the Jayhawks learned there is still room to grow.
“Definitely experience has to do with it,” coach Erin O’Neil said, “but our freshmen and sophomores have competitive backgrounds.”
With the Big 12 Tournament looming, O’Neil understands what needs to be fixed before the team goes out to its final tournament of the regular season, the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic in Norman, Okla., April 6-8.
“We need to focus on our short game,” O’Neil said, “and to just be confident and to stay in the moment.”
For these Jayhawks, that might be the best way to regain the momentum they picked up earlier this year, finishing as high as third place in Fresno, Calif.
“We played at this course before, last year,” sophomore Emily Powers said, trying to explain the team’s performance in Tuscon. “So for those who played on it last year, thought about that and not this tournament.”
Powers has been one of the young leaders of these Jayhawks, finishing in either first or second on the team in each tournament played this season.
“We all go out there and try to play our best scores,” Powers said. “It doesn’t matter who finishes first or second on this team.”
O’Neil was satisfied with Powers’ game, as Powers hit six greens on the final day and had 23 putts.
“She earned during that final round,” O’Neil said.
After Powers though, only one other Jayhawk finished in the top 50 — freshmen Meghna Bal tied for 43rd place with a score of 228. Senior Annie Giangrosso finished in 51st place with a score of 230. Sophomore Meghan Gockel tied for 67th with a score of 234 and freshmen Grace Thiry tied for 76th with a score of 237.
Even with two consecutive disappointing showings, O’Neil remains confident that the team will regain the form that the Jayhawks showed earlier this year.
“We can’t worry about what’s behind us or what’s in front us,” O’Neil said, “but just concentrate on the present.”
— Edited by Katherine Loeck
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