Maryland Women's Golf Saves Best For Last
11/13/2002 7:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Nov. 13, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Save the best for last.
That's what the Maryland women's golf team did this fall season, which concluded Nov. 5 at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, S.C., where the Terps placed fourth, their highest finish of the season.
The Terps shot a collective 904 at their fourth and final fall tournament, including a third-round 298, the first time the team has broken 300 for a round in the brief four-year history of the program. "That was our best tournament ever, at least by score," said head coach Jason Rodenhaver, who has been with the team since its inception in 1999. "Those are NCAA [tournament] numbers."
Senior Carter Crowther (Kilmarnock, Va.) fired the Terps' first par round of the season, carding a 72 over the final 18 holes to lead the Terps in 14th place. After shooting 74 and 76 in the first two rounds, Crowther finished with a collective six-over-par 222. Her rank was the highest a Terrapin has placed this fall, topping senior Erin Clasper's (North Potomac, Md.) 15th-place finish at the Lady Pirate Fall Intercollegiate three weeks ago.
Junior Marie Harper (West Point, Va.) also landed in the top 20, tying for 15th, just one stroke behind Crowther with a 223. Harper carded her three lowest rounds of the season with a first-round 75 and two rounds of 74.
"Marie and Carter both got better as the fall went on, but they put it all together in the last tournament," Rodenhaver said.
The Terrapins began the season at the Lady Kat Invitational in Lexington, Ky., Sept. 13-15, where they finished ninth in the rain-shortened tournament. "I think we played well in Kentucky," Rodenhaver said. "We were at the mercy of the weather, but we finished in the top 10 in a good field. It was a good start."
Next up was the Chrysler ACC/SEC Challenge in Destin, Fla., Sept. 27-29, but the Terps were forced to withdraw when Tropical Storm Isidore created severe weather conditions in the Southeast, which cancelled the team's connecting flight in Atlanta.
After carding a 321 in the first round of the Nittany Lion Invitational in State College, Pa., the team recovered to finish in sixth place, firing 312 and 315 in the final two rounds. One week later, the Terps' trend of a poor first round continued at the Lady Pirate Fall Intercollegiate in Greenville, N.C., when they began the tournament with a 327. A second-round 314 and 313 in the third preserved a ninth-place team finish. Clasper claimed the Terps' first top-20 finish of the season, landing in 15th place with a combined 230, including a four-over-par 75 in the second round.
"We need to improve on getting off to a good start," Rodenhaver said. "It's been addressed, but we still need to be aware of it. [A poor first round] plagued us in three of the four tournaments."
The Terrapins finally ended the pattern at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate, when they threatened to set their own team mark for lowest round ever. Their previous best was 303, and the Terps just missed with a first-round 305. The record fell in the second round when the team posted a 301, a mark that did not even survive the tournament, as the Terps went on to fire a 298 in the third round.
"We finished on a high note. Edwin Watts gave the team confidence and momentum going into the spring, and it puts us in position to do great things and hopefully get an NCAA [tournament] bid. That's always our goal," Rodenhaver said.
Rodenhaver said he wants to continue the same practice strategy the team used in the weeks that separated the final two tournaments. In that time, each player kept track of how many greens she hit during practice, and that translated into hitting more greens during the tournament.
"Our average went from seven greens per round to 11, which is a significant jump," Rodenhaver said. "The tour average is about 12."
At Kiawah Island, Rodenhaver used his fourth different lineup in four tournaments this season. "The fall is about trying to find a starting five that works," he said.
Rodenhaver said Clasper, the team captain, was the "most consistent" golfer of the fall. She and Harper were the only team members to compete in all four fall tournaments.
"I was pleased to see Stacey Wolejko (Hatfield, Mass.) in two tournaments," Rodenhaver added. "Her hard work paid off, and hopefully she can carry her success into the spring."
The Terps now have a winter hiatus before returning to the course Feb. 28-March 2 for the Edwin Watts/Carolinas Collegiate Classic in Pinehurst, N.C. for the first of five spring tournaments. The spring season concludes April 18-20 with the ACC Championship in Clemmons, N.C.
