Jan. 28, 2011
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By Josh Molino
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's golf team is eager to begin the spring season tomorrow. The fall season provided a trial by fire for a young inexperienced team giving head coach Courtney Trimble plenty of confidence heading into the spring.
The Knights participated in four tournaments during the fall season with the best finish coming at the Labor Day Shootout placing fourth out of six teams. The youthful Knights squad is led by senior Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.) accompanied by four sophomores Valentina Fontaine (Santiago, Chile), Jordyn Hage (Winter Park, Fla.), Sunny Harris (Pensacola, Fla.) and Carolin Pinegger (Marquartstein, Germany). Filling out the roster are two freshmen, Isabelle Bachtiar (Karlestad, Sweden) and Kaitlyn Price (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.).
The spring slate is once again loaded with elite competition from across the country. The season starts Jan. 29 with a dual match against No. 21 Kent State at RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. Next up for the black and gold is the UCF Challenge Feb. 13-15, also being held at RedTail Golf Club. The competitive field for the challenge has been ranked in the Golf Digest top 15 tournaments of the spring season. Among the teams competing in the challenge are two schools that finished ranked in the top-25 final fall standings. No. 15 Tulane and No. 22 Texas along with SEC powers Ole Miss and South Carolina create a NCAA tournament feel early in the spring season.
"This year's UCF Challenge has an elite field with a wide variety of teams. It showcases teams from all different conferences and parts of the country. It's a great barometer to see where we stand," Trimble said.
UCF then heads to Valdosta, Ga. to play in the Kinderlou Forest Challenge held Feb. 27- March 1, hosted by Valdosta State. The Knights have a quick turnaround as just five days later UCF heads to Gainesville, Fla. to participate in the SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational also ranked as one of the top-15 spring tournaments at Golf Digest No.10. The tournament is set for March 6-7 at the Mark Bostic Golf Course. March 21-22 has the Knights in Stockbridge, Ga. at the John Kirk/Panther Invitational hosted by Georgia State. The regular season finale is the Rebel Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss, April 1-3 in Oxford, Miss. This tournament will provide UCF with its warm-up event heading into the Conference USA Championships being held in Gulf Shores, Ala. April 17-19.
In coach Trimble's short time at UCF the team has already accomplished many historical feats. The 2010 Hurricane Inivitational was the first team tournament victory since 2002. UCF was named GolfWeek's National Team of the Week and in coach Trimble's first year at UCF, she helped three Knights earn the honor of All-Conference USA.
"One of the drawbacks to the fall season was the inexperience of the youth on the roster. This fall the young team gained invaluable experience and heading into the spring we are confident that we can handle the tough tournament fields with poise," Trimble said.
Although only a freshman, Price played with a certain confidence that improved throughout the fall season. Leading UCF in stroke average per round with 76.85, Price was the Knights' top finisher in two of the four fall events. At the Labor Day Shootout, Price earned her best finish of the year placing tied for 15th overall. Fellow freshman Bachtiar hopes to have a strong spring and improve on her stroke average and low 18-hole round score of 79. This spring should pose many chances for Bachtiar to shine.
This group of sophomores all have great potential to become accomplished student-athletes for the black and gold. Fontaine and Pinegger have both made an immediate impact since arriving at UCF. Fontaine led the Knights in stroke average in the fall of 2009 and earned NGCA All-American Scholar and All-Conference USA accolades in 2010. Fontaine looks to start fast this spring earning the No. 1 spot in the seasons' first competition vs. Kent State. In the spring of 2010 Pinegger helped the Knights to the first team victory since 2002 at the Hurricane Invitational placing seventh overall and also later earned a spot on the All-Conference USA team. Harris and Hage both took different routes to land with the Knights, but are happy they made the choice to be part of the black and gold tradition. Harris was a walk-on last season and participated in a few tournaments in the 2010 spring and fall, most noticeably shooting a second round 74 for the Knights at the Cougar Classic. Hage transferred from Augusta State to UCF this past fall and made an immediate impact for the Knights. At the Labor Day Shootout Hage finshed in 20th place. Hage can expect to see more playing time in this springs' full schedule.
No one player has improved and or made contributions to the UCF women's golf program like senior Detlefsen has done in her four years with the black and gold. Detlefsen has been named as a NGCA All-American Scholar in three consecutive seasons (2008-10). Detlefsen also earned 2009 and 2010 C-USA All-Academic team, as well as a spot on the 2010 All-Conference USA team. ESPN the Magazine named Detlefsen an Academic All-American and the most prestigious of all the awards came in the form of the 2010 LPGA Dinah Shore Award given to a player who maintains a solid GPA, participates in 50% of team play, shoots a consistent stroke average of 78 or below, and is actively involved in the community.
"Katie is the leader of our team. She helps the younger players by demonstrating an excellent work ethic on and off the course. Katie always wants to get herself better as well as the team. This is her (Katie) last season and she wants to set an example of excellence by winning on and off the course," Trimble said.