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Show The Forum Golfers Return to Links with Experience Page 6 September 10, 2002 Lind are expected to have Jason Long great seasons, the success of the team will not depend solely on the two Last fall, the Westminster sophomores. Newcomers mens golf team began its Hurd and Dunn will need season with an abundance to contribute immediately of youth from top to botwith some low scores. tom. Now, in the third This pressure to produce year of a new program, now could easily get to that youth has developed incoming freshmen in any into invaluable experience sport. However, Park to go along with a few thinks these two will be up new faces. And as Coach to the task. Eric Dunn was Daron Park emphasizes, very impressive in last There is no substitute for weeks qualifying round, experience. and Eric Hurd is a very With one year of colleexciting golfer who is as giate competition under talented as any we have their belt, returning sophoever had at Westminster, mores Ben Painter and Park said. Jesse Lind can use their The mens team has high knowledge to lead a team expectations this season, that includes freshmen Eric their first tournament startHurd, Mike Elliot, Thomas ed on Sunday at Butte Dubach and Eric Dunn, as Country Club in Montana. well as senior Brad White The entire team should be who is back with the team able to contribute accordhiatus. after a one-yeing to Painter. Last year The familiarity with the there was a gap between college level of competition our top golfers and our has helped Painter, who lower golfers, Painter said. was Academic Now, we have closed that last season. which will give us a After having a chance to gap great chance to take it to get a feel for the high level the next level as a team. of golf in this league, I In college golf, players now realize where I need compete individually, also. to be with my game, When asked who may Painter said, adding that his have a breakout tournashort game will be the key ment, Park said, I expect to his success this season. big things from Jesse this As long as I can capitalize weekend. He really on my strength of getting worked hard on his own up and down better than all summer and has been most players in our conferswinging better than ever ence, I should have a great during practice. season. The men seem poised Although Painter and fnr n hip yp:ir in which Staff Writer . they plan to grab some national attention with such a deep roster of players. While this depth will no doubt be the strength of the mens program, it could very well be a question waiting for an answer on womens side. The only member with any col- legiate experience is returning junior Rachel Miranda. Freshmen Ava Crump and Amy Hermann will join sophomore Gillian Bucciarelli, who was a late addition joining the team just a couple of days before their first tourna- ment. Rachel Miranda who received honors as a freshmen and Academic honors last season is opti- mistic about the fall. The fall will be a growing and learning experience for all of us. I see a lot of potential in our three new girls, and the fall should provide a good chance for them to build their confidence and work on their games. I am very excited, she said. Park also sees room for growth in each of the freshmen. Crump, who was originally' recruited by Park to play only basketball this winter until she mentioned she was also a golfer at a basketball team barbecue, had a qualifying round last week. The biggest struggle for Crump could be juggling golf and basketball into her busy school schedule. I will just have to use my time efficiently; I will see how it more-than-impressi- ve ar All-Confere- . goes, Crump said. I am excited to play, though. Its all about the complete college experience. Like the men, the women kick off their fall with a trip to Butte, Mont. Miranda is ready to go.- I worked out hard all summer on a program that has improved my strength in important areas. I also worked on my swing to become more fundamentally sound. This should help me be more consistent, which is what I need to do to have a successful year. Both the men and women are seemingly set for successful seasons while the youthful program continues to improve after only two full seasons of competition. After three tournaments this fall, they will play three additional tournaments in the coming spring including a home tournament at Wingpointe Golf Course. Whether using their experience on the mens side or achieving much needed experience on the womens side, one thing remains constant. There is no substitute for experience. - golf-specif-ic 5 Freshman basketball player Ava Crump took to the links after an intoductory barbecue for the basketball team. Now she is one of the top golfers at Westminster. Up Next j The golf teams will travel to Helena, Mont, to play in a tournament at Carroll College on Monday and Tuesday. I - ) ? 4 I Lady Griffins Fill Voids with Youth Matt McMullen Contributing Writer Sometimes it takes a loss for a team to make a turnaround. With the graduation of team cap- lege level. With Seibt returning to the team as an assistant coach, the Griffin volleyball program hopes to continue to improve Along with Smith, seniors Anny Hoggan, Anny Hoggan Jenni Taylor, under Linsey Hunt Outside Hitter Kearns, UT Biology Major A four-yea- r starter, Hoggan will lead the Griffins into action in a tournament in Dillon, Mont., this weekend. third-yea- r Sorensen. After a coach much-improve- d and Liz tain Ruth Seibt last year, the. Westminster Griffins volleyball team might season last year that saw the Lady Thompson share the Griffins finish with a have gotten just what they needed. And not because Seibt, a second team player last year, could not compete. While losing several key players on last years record, they found what it takes to win. With five returning seniors and two transfer students, this team has the leadership and experience to improve on last years success. With a smaller squad we are relying on each other more, both on and off the court, senior cocaptain Sasha Smith said. The sense of team unity has made it easy for the younger players to transition into the col starting court with freshman setter Candice Lang, a Northridge High product. It was hard leaving home to go to school, but these girls make it easier because we have become such good friends, Lang said. Freshman middle blocker Jackie Ottenstein and outside hitters Maxi Miller and Stephanie Smith shore up the bench for the Lady All-Confere- nce team, including Seibt, the Lady Griffins had big voids to fill. Rather than relying on one player like last year this years team has come together. We lost a great player (Seibt), but we gained a great team, Coach Derrick Sorensen said. 9-- 16 , Griffins. 6 - Senior Qo-Capt- ain While filling the gaps left by departed players has been a struggle for the Griffins as they have fallen to 8 early in the season, the team must remain healthy and maintain a positive attitude in order to be successful. We have to keep that positive, winning attitude, and not get down on ourselves because we have lost some games, said 2-- Hoggan, adding that they will fake it, until we make it. With a positive attitude and her court sense, Hoggan is one of leaders of this years team. Hoggan, Hunt and Taylor are four-yeveterans of ar Westminster volleyball. The Lady Griffins just returned from a tournament in California, although results were not available at press time. |
