Feb. 27, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
After a winter hiatus, the Maryland women's golf team returns to the course Feb. 28-March 2 for the season-opening Edwin Watts/Carolinas Collegiate Classic in Pinehurst, N.C. The Terps will open the season on the 5,898-yard, par-72 Pinehurst No. 8 golf course.
The Terps have been unable to practice since Feb. 6 due to the winter storm that dumped about two feet of snow on College Park. "The snow hurt us big time, but we'll persevere," said Head Coach Jason Rodenhaver. "We just want to go somewhere we can play golf."
The College of Charleston hosts the 22-team field, which includes Alabama-Birmingham, Appalachian State, Augusta State, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, East Carolina, Elon, Georgia State, Iowa, Jacksonville State, Kansas, Maryland, Memphis, North Carolina-Greensboro, North Carolina-Wilmington, Notre Dame, Penn State, Radford, William & Mary, Winthrop and Wofford.
During the fall, the Terps faced 13 of the 22 teams in this weekend's field. Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Penn State, William & Mary and Winthrop are their most familiar competitors, having faced them each twice.
Rodenhaver will use the same lineup for the spring opener as he did at the fall finale in Kiawah Island, S.C., where the Terps finished in fourth place. Seniors Erin Clasper (North Potomac, Md.) and Carter Crowther (Kilmarnock, Va.) and juniors Marie Harper (West Point, Va.), Katie Redeker (Pepper Pike, Ohio) and Stacey Wolejko (Hatfield, Mass.) will compete for Maryland.
Last year, Maryland finished 11th at Pinehurst in a field that included 18 of the teams they will face this weekend. Then-freshman Kristen Shew (Hockessin, Del.), who will not participate this weekend, led the Terps, tying for 21st place. Clasper, Crowther, Harper and Redeker also competed in that tournament.
Save The Best For Last
The Terps ended the fall season on a high note, finishing fourth at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate Nov. 5, the team's highest finish of the season. For the first time in the brief four-year history of the program, Maryland broke 300 for a round with a third-round 298.
Crowther fired the Terps' only round of par of the fall, carding a 72 over the final 18 holes. She led the team with her 14th-place finish, the highest a Terrapin placed all season.
Harper also landed in the top 20, tying for 15th place, just one stroke behind Crowther. Harper carded her three lowest rounds of the season with a first-round 75 and two rounds of 74.
In ninth place after 27 holes, Clasper finished the tournament tied for 23rd. Redeker and Wolejko each fired their lowest rounds of the season in the third round.
Terps At A Glance
Clasper and Harper were the only Terps to compete in all 11 rounds of the fall, spanning four tournaments.
Clasper led the team with 77.9 strokes per 18 holes, but Harper and Crowther were each within a stroke at 78.4 and 78.8, respectively.
Maryland finished in ninth place at the fall opener, the Lady Kat Invitational in Lexington, Ky. Harper and Redeker tied for 30th to lead the Terps.
The Terps were forced to withdraw from their second fall tournament, the ACC/SEC Challenge, in Destin, Fla., due to Tropical Storm Isidor. They returned to the course to finish sixth at the Nittany Lion Invitational in State College, Pa., and were led by a 24th-place finish from Clasper.
Maryland finished ninth at the Lady Pirate Fall Intercollegiate in Greenville, N.C. Team captain Clasper claimed the Terps' first individual top-20 finish of the season, placing 15th.
About Coach Rodenhaver
In his fourth season as head coach, Jason Rodenhaver is the only coach the Maryland women's golf team has ever known, and he built the program from scratch.
Rodenhaver played three years for Maryland after transferring from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he played one season. As team captain in 1994, his senior year, Rodenhaver led the Terps to a fifth place finish at the ACC Tournament, and played in the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
In his eighth year of coaching, Rodenhaver was named head coach of the women's team on November 19, 1998 after serving as the assistant coach of the men's team for four-and-a-half seasons.
Rodenhaver says his most memorable moment as a coach was leading the women's team to victory at the James Madison Lady Dukes Invitational in Spring 2001. It was the first team victory in Maryland women's golf history.
Follow The Terrapins In 2003
Terps on the Web - For up-to-date tournament stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please locate www.umterps.com on the Internet. Check it out today for the most recent women's golf player and coach bios and the 2002-03 season recaps.
E-mail Straight To You - If you would like the latest Maryland women's golf news e-mailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, e-mail women's golf contact Jessica Bernheim at JessicaB@wam.umd.edu with the message "Golf E-mail" as the subject and you will receive every update released about the team.
