Team playing beyond their years
A youthful CU women’s golf team has proved to be up to par for coaches and fans alike. Behind the strong play of three freshmen, the Buffs have finished in the top-10 for three straight tournaments.
In CU’s last tournament, the San Jose State Invitational, the team finished in a tie for second place. Freshman Julie Kim anchored the team with a career-best third place finish as she shot a four-over-par score for the three rounds. Head Coach Anne Kelly said she is really impressed with the play of the freshmen thus far.
“To be honest, I thought the freshmen would need a longer adjustment period” Kelly said. “They are not only great golfers, but also quality kids with good attitudes.”
The Buffs’ freshmen class is made up of Julie Kim, Christine Kim and Dominique Pytlewski. These three golfers make up one of the top-three freshmen classes in the country and have certainly lived up to their billing on the golf course.
“They work hard on their golf and care about their academics, so you really can’t ask for much more then that,” Kelly said.
While Kelly is surprised with their achievements coming so early in their college careers, Pytlewski said she thought she could come in and make a difference right away.
“Coming in, I had pretty high expectations,” Pytlewski said. “I didn’t have the best summer heading in, but recently, I am gaining more and more confidence.
The Buffs are not led purely by freshmen, however, as sophomore scoring-average leader Lindsay Caljouw has posted three individual top-10s this spring. Caljouw holds a career stroke average of 76.23. She said she hopes to improve on that this spring and push the Buffs to team success.
“My individual goal is to be at a 73 average,” Caljouw said. “Our team goals are to be a top-three team, beat the Big 12 schools and have a good attitude. We are progressing well.”
While Caljouw listed specific goals, Kelly said she prefers to focus on the overall process and building the foundation for success each day.
“Our main goal is to take care of the small details and get better everyday,” Kelly said. “If you ignore the end result and pay attention to the little details, the scores and finishes will take care of themselves.”
Although Kelly said she doesn’t want to look to the future, the rich get richer next year with the addition of newly signed recruit Stephanie Simich.
For now, youth has been served. The Buffs will continue to work towards their goals, which includes qualifying for the NCAA West Regional in early May.
The team returns to action on March 24, as they host the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz.
Contact staff writer Ben Dignan at Benjamin.Dignan@thecampuspress.com
