Maryland Women's Golf Spring Preview
2/3/2004 7:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Feb. 3, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When building a new college golf program, it's one thing to have one or two good players who can star individually or even help a team achieve.
But the 2003-04 season marks a different kind of progress for Maryland head coach Jason Rodenhaver. He's got the one or two good players who can help lead the Terrapins from time to time.
But the fifth year of the Maryland program brings depth, according to Rodenhaver, a new milestone for the young program.
"This is the first time we've had eight or nine quality players we can put in the lineup every time," said Rodenhaver, now coaching at his alma mater after playing as a Terrapin himself. "This will be a new challenge for us. Instead of us having a set five, now we can be a little more competitive at practice and play some good quality rounds."
Rodenhaver also has leadership on this team, having three seniors and a veteran junior who can impart their experience on some talented newcomers.
Katie Redeker is the team captain and is one of those three seniors, joined by Marie Harper and Stacey Wolejko. Redeker is the first Terrapin to win an individual title, winning the John Kirk/Lady Panther Invitational as a freshman. Harper led the Terps with a 76.5 scoring average during the fall season after leading the Terps in scoring average as a junior. Wolejko has made steady improvement throughout her seasons at Maryland based on what her coach says is her dedication.
"We have three seniors who have played a lot," said Rodenhaver. "They've been through the grind and know what to expect. They can be good role models for our freshmen. The freshmen can see how the seniors balance travel, golf and academics."
Kristen Shew is a junior who Rodenhaver says could have something of a breakout year. She had one of the Terps' two sub-par rounds during a solid fall season. She was third on the team in scoring average last spring and improved to a 78.9 average during the fall 2003 season.
Among the top newcomers for Maryland this year, freshman Kate Stepanek had an outstanding collegiate debut this fall. She posted the best round of the fall season for Maryland, a 2-under 70 at Penn State. She had a 76.6 scoring average during her first semester as a collegian, finishing just behind Harper for the team lead.
Two other freshmen played for the Terps in the fall, Jessica Reno and Kelly MacWhinnie. Reno played in all four fall events for Maryland and comes to College Park after competing on the men's golf team at St. Mark's School in Delaware. MacWhinnie is the sister of Terrapin men's team player Bobby MacWhinnie and is noted as a hard-worker by her new coach.
Katie Elliott is a product of Notre Dame Prep in Baltimore and will push the other players to get a chance at the lineup. Other newcomers for Maryland this year are Maggie Trainor, who qualified for the Canadian Juniors Championship while playing in Ontario, and walk-on Lauren Yamada, a local product from nearby Wootten High School in Rockville.
Despite playing in a tough Atlantic Coast Conference, Rodenhaver is hoping the depth of his program and the number of quality players pushing each other could have Maryland climbing to another new milestone in the near future.
"I hope we can have ourselves in position to receive a bid to the NCAA regionals," said Rodenhaver. "This is by far our deepest team and we've never had this many players who are quite this talented.
