Nov. 3, 2008
When UCF women's golf coach Emilee Klein signed Marika Lendl to a National Letter of Intent last year, she knew she was getting one of the top junior players in the country. Early into her collegiate career as a Knight, Lendl has not disappointed.
The schedule did not exactly open softly for UCF as the Knights faced nine of the nation's top-10 teams in Vanderbilt's Mason Rudolph Challenge and nine more top-25 squads a week later at the Tar Heel Invitational. The freshman from Bradenton was undaunted as Lendl was UCF's top finisher in each of the first two events of the year, firing three par-or-better rounds out of her first six as a collegiate player.
"It's the same girls I played against in juniors," Lendl says. "It's really the same thing I've been doing for years except for the team element. It's the same girls, the same number of days (three). It hasn't been that big of a change coming to college and (Klein) has been very helpful too. Any problems I have had she has an answer for. It's been great so far. I'm a good student so it's been pretty easy to keep up with the class work too."
Lendl's success is no surprise at all to Klein who has had an eye on her for years.
"I started watching her when she was about 15 years old," she recalls. "I wasn't sure if she was going to go to college because her ultimate goal is to turn pro. I was at a tournament where there wasn't too many good players and I started watching her because I wanted to see some good golf. I think it intrigued them that I was watching even though the pro rumors were going on. Eventually she and her dad called me and we started the recruiting process."
Oh yes, her dad. Marika's surname is of course a familiar one to sports fans nationwide as her father, Ivan Lendl, is one of the top players the sport of tennis has ever known. A relentless player on the court, Lendl won eight Grand Slam singles titles, played in 11 more, and spent a record 270 weeks as the world's No. 1-ranked player.
"I'm a true believer in genes," Klein, a former LPGA pro says. "Most families you'll see athletic talent across the board even in different sports. She has what it takes to get to the next level. It's interesting when you talk to her dad because he also knows exactly what it takes too. With my past from the golf side it helps because we can both help her to get there. He's so strong mentally that it definitely rubs off."
Bloodlines are just a part of the equation though for any champion athlete. Marika's goals for this year include winning a tournament and making the NCAAs, both as an individual and as a team, but good genes alone will not get either her or the Knights there. The mental training, particularly for a solitary sport such as golf, is crucial. Ivan raised his daughter to have a champion's fortitude from when she was young.
"Everything was a competition," Marika recalled of her childhood with her dad and four sisters. "You could do nothing but give your best. He always pushed hard and tried to help in any way that he could. He was a huge help to me growing up."
Marika played tennis until she was nine years old, switching to golf in part because she liked how you and you alone can control your outcome. There's no pesky drop shots to watch out for or big forehands to hit away from. You never spend all of your energy running the baseline to chase down well-placed returns from an opponent who just won't go away. It's, more or less, just you and the course in golf. There's no Jimmy Connors or Serena Williams forcing you to hit your approach shot either perfectly onto the green or a little to the right and into the water. You do that entirely on your own in golf.
"You do play against other people," Lendl explains, "but everything that happens you control. There's no one to blame but yourself and no one to thank but yourself."
Indeed golf has treated Marika well and when asked just how happy she was to be coaching Marika instead of having UCF women's tennis coach Stephanie Nickitas mentor the freshman, Klein let out a good laugh.
"I'm very happy and we're all so glad to have her on the team," she said. "She has fit in really well. She's so talented that it's just fun watching her play golf. She's a tremendous player. She has so much talent. The LPGA is definitely in her future."