By: By Hunter McKay
Quick Facts | Record Book | Schedule
KENNESAW, Ga. – After a 2016-17 campaign that highlighted many achievements for the Kennesaw State women's golf program, including nine top 10 finishes, to go with five top five finishes, and an ASUN Conference Player of the Year, the Owls are ready to begin play in 2017-18.
KSU returns five members off last year's team that features an experienced roster comprised of one senior, four juniors, and one redshirt-sophomore, and one freshman giving head coach
Rhyll Brinsmead and her team optimism that they can contend for another ASUN championship.
"In college golf experience is a great asset to have," I think one of the things we have struggled with in years past was inexperience and under pressure when it came to really get it done at the right time.
"I am excited to have the returners we do. I am very excited to have Clara (Aveling) back and healthy. I am excited that Roanne (Tomlinson) has come in from Seminole Community College, where she had a very successful junior college career and she expects to win every time she steps on the golf course. With the combination of the returners and the two newcomers we have a great amount of depth."
Brinsmead said she has changed the focus of the team for the upcoming season.
"The general goal this fall is to get better every time we step on the golf course," Brinsmead said. "We pushed back the first tournament of the fall later than we have done in the past. We would normally play a tournament the first week of September, but we are not playing our first tournament this year until September 22
nd to give us some extra practice time."
"We set a goal of trying to shoot 295 this fall. Last year, we shot 299 as a team which was second lowest in program history. This year we want to beat that and beat it by a lot," Brinsmead said.
Senior
Henriette Nielsen is set to embark on the final chapter of her Owl career. Nielsen bounced back from an injury that hampered her as a sophomore to post a 76.56 scoring average and earn ASUN Second Team All-Conference honors during her junior season.
"She has really battled her way back this year," Brinsmead said. "She has been shooting rounds of par or better in practice and qualifying. It's so refreshing to see her back smiling and having fun on the golf course again."
Brinsmead named Nielsen the team captain for the upcoming season.
"She has this energy about her that the team loves. Eric and I trust her to lead the team by her actions and what she does on the course, off the course and with recruits. The team has bought into it as well. It's been fun to watch her take on that role."
Also returning are juniors
Madison Caldwell,
Charlotte Charrayre, and
Medy Thavong along with redshirt
sophomore Clara Aveling.
Caldwell joined the team in December of last season and had a solid spring and summer. Aveling is looking to return from injury that caused her to miss all of last season.
Charrayre was third on the team with a 76.33 scoring average a season ago. Thavong had an outstanding sophomore campaign leading the team with four top 10 finishes including a win at the Johnie Imes Invitational. She was named ASUN Player of the Year and ASUN Scholar Athlete of the Year.
The five returners are joined this season by a pair of talented newcomers in junior
Roanne Tomlinson and freshman
Kwan Wongsinth. Tomlinson comes to KSU from Seminole State College where she was the number two ranked sophomore in the NJCCA by Golfstat. Wongsinth is from Thailand and has played a lot of strong golf.
Brinsmead is excited about the additions of Tomlinson and Wongsinth.
"It's been great for us," Brinsmead said. "Roanne went out and qualified number one for us. She went out and shot rounds of 72-71-73. She really has been playing great. She came out swinging as I thought she would. She had a very impressive junior college career. Every time she steps on the tee it is all or nothing with her. She has got and energy about her that the team has picked up on."
"Kwan is just really methodical when it comes to practice. She is a student of the game. She has transitioned well by putting in hard work. I think she can really make an immediate impact on our travel squad. She like the slew of Thai players that we have had here is fundamentally sound, loves golf, loves Kennesaw State and has really bought into the process."
Brinsmead, who begins her 11th season KSU's head coach, said she is happy about what she has seen in practice and qualifying.
"The qualifying has been highly competitive. Those who have qualified have been shooting par or better and only winning by one or two strokes. We are going to see some rotation in our lineup through the fall. I don't really believe we have a set five. I think we have seven players who all are going to be competing for five spots which is very refreshing. It's nice to have depth."
The Owls will travel to Greenville, South Carolina for the season-opening Lady Paladin Invitational for the sixth straight year that begins Friday (Sept. 22).
The schedule also includes return trips to Johnie Imes Invitational hosted by Missouri and the Palmetto Intercollegiate hosted by the College of the Charleston. The fall season concludes with a trip to Atlanta Athletic Club to play in the Ladies Fall Collegiate Invitational hosted by Louisville. KSU will play five tournaments in the spring prior to the ASUN Championships, highlighted by the Owls hosting the Hennsler Intercollegiate at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga., March 26-27.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's golf news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsWmnsGolf or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
- #GoKSUOwls -
