Northwestern University Athletics
FALL RECAP: Success From Preparation, Approach
12/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
By Sara Romano
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern enters the 2015 spring season ranked eighth in the nation by Golfstat -- the highest the Wildcats have ever been ranked coming out of the fall season in the history of the program.
Over the past two years, the women's golf program has emerged as a major player on the Big Ten and national stages, winning its first-ever Big Ten title in 2013 and finishing 15th at the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons in 2013 and 2014.
Northwestern concludes the 2014 fall season with a collection of accolades, a sense of determination and high expectations for the spring.
'CATS CRUISE THROUGH FALL
The fall season saw the Northwestern golf team amass one team tournament victory, a top-10 national ranking and three Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors, none of which comes as a surprise to head coach Emily Fletcher.
"Our success solidified what we already knew about this team--that they are a very talented group of young women," Fletcher said. "We are excited to see what they can do in the spring, excited for them to see some real proven results because they have worked incredibly hard."
Northwestern took first place in a 16-team field at their first event of the fall, the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sept. 15-16. In just four fall events, the Wildcats boasted three different Big Ten Golfers of the Week: Suchaya Tangkamolprasert (Sept. 17), Kaitlin Park (Oct. 1) and Hannah Kim (Oct. 23).
However, Fletcher maintains that the success of the fall season will not affect how the team prepares for and approaches the spring season.
"Our goal is to continue to improve and get better, to be the best that we can be," Fletcher said. "The results take care of themselves."
TAKE A BREATHER
The Wildcats' fall schedule wrapped up in mid-October with the Stanford Intercollegiate tournament in California, where the Wildcats finished fifth. Northwestern will kick off the spring season Feb. 15-17 in Rio Mar, P.R., at the Lady Puerto Rico event.
When Northwestern golfers head indoors for the winter, it is a critical time of the year as the team looks to build upon their success this past fall.
The focus is on fundamentals and sharpening skills that will translate to improvement on the golf course once spring arrives. The team will also take two training trips to Florida to keep their game sharp.
However, the student-athletes are also able to take a step back from golf and focus on academics during the winter before gearing back up for a competitive spring season.
"We encourage our kids to hit the pause button and to really take some time off and to enjoy being here and partaking in everything that Northwestern has to offer, because I think it makes them better when we come back," Fletcher explains. "By mid-February they will be champing at the bit to compete again."
EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
The 2014-15 Northwestern golf team is arguably the deepest and most talented team in the program's history. With two golfers at each grade level, the team has a balance of youth and experience to guide them into the postseason.
Fletcher credits the team's depth and competitiveness with helping each player to improve by challenging one another. Every player on the Wildcats' roster contributes to the team success.
Freshmen Hannah Kim and Sarah Cho have quickly acclimated to the college game and made an immediate impact on the Northwestern squad.
"I'm really proud of what those two have done," Fletcher said. "We are not surprised that they contributed and stepped up, but certainly we are very, very pleased. We will look for them to continue to contribute in a big way as we move into the rest of the season."
Junior Suchaya Tangkamolprasert leads the Wildcats in scoring average at 72.00. Fletcher says that the best is yet to come from her standout player.
"[Suchaya] is off the best start she has had. She is a player who has really led us in the postseason. We can expect greater and greater things out of her as we move into the spring segment."
The team's two seniors, Katie Wooliver and Hana Lee, have been "tremendous leaders," according to Fletcher. "They have been a part of it since the beginning and we've changed the culture and had some proven results. They've been a big part of that."
Fletcher looks for Lee to make a big contribution in her final collegiate season. But, Fletcher believes, her last season at Northwestern will not be the end of her golf career.
"I think she will be the first player to leave our program who can go off and have success at the next level and compete on the LPGA tour," Fletcher said.
JUST GETTING STARTED
With a successful fall season under their belt, the Wildcats are eyeing a repeat as Big Ten Champions this spring.
"Be competitive in every event and have an opportunity to win," Fletcher says of the team's goals for spring. "We've had our sights set all year on winning a Big Ten Championship...and to make it to that final eight at NCAAs so we are playing in the match play segment."
This season, the women's NCAA Championships will mirror the format of the men's, with the top eight teams following the stroke play portion advancing to match play to determine the national champion.
Fletcher likes how her team's spring schedule lines up. The Wildcats will play in five events before the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 24-26.
"I think our winter and spring schedule stacks up perfectly for what we are looking to do. It presents us with some good opportunities to compete and to win," she said.
A sense of excitement pervades the women's golf team going into the spring season. The squad looks to make a major statement at the Big Ten and NCAA championships, and their coach is confident in her players to make a successful run.
"One of the keys for us is we all continue to improve and strive to be the best we can be," Fletcher said. "We have seen that this is a talented group and if we continue to do that the results are going to come. It's going to be a fun spring."
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
