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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Compete in Big 12 Championships
04.22.2009 | Women's Golf
AMES, Iowa- Iowa State head women's golf coach Christie Martens owns the task of preparing her squad for the 2009 Big 12 Women's Golf Championships, April 24-26 at the Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas.
For Martens and the Cyclones, the tournament couldn't have come at a better time. ISU is coming off its best showing of the season in its last outing, placing second at the ultra-competitive Indiana Invitational, where ISU defeated No. 36 Texas along with six Big Ten teams. Martens is definitely pleased with steady progress her team has shown throughout the spring.
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“I think we are really peaking at the right time,” Martens said. “Our players have really improved over the spring season. It's fun to see them coming together and believing in themselves. On any given week, if we play to our potential, we can compete with anyone. They just have to play to their own potential.”
As always, the Big 12 is loaded with quality teams. Eleven of the 12 teams in the league are ranked 78th or higher in the most recent Golfweek ratings. No. 4-ranked and defending champion Oklahoma State is the favorite to win. The Cowboys are led by Caroline Hedwall, who is ranked 10th nationally in the Golfweek individual rankings. The Cyclones are ranked 70th, paced by junior Pennapa Pulsawath, who is rated 201st nationally by Golfweek.
“Oklahoma State will be the favorite,” Martens added. “They are the real dominant team right now in the league. We have a tough team and we play well in bad conditions. If we have the right mindset, we can play with anybody.”
This year's championship will be hosted by Texas Tech for the first time at the Rawls Course. The long, flat 6,525-yard par-73 layout will offer many challenges to the 2009 field. The course, which was designed by world-renowned architect Tom Doak in 2002, was built on a cotton field. The daily breeze on the west Texas plains makes the course extremely difficult to master.
“I think the weather in Iowa gives us an advantage because we have to play in high winds here a lot,” Martens said. “We have played in a lot of windy conditions this spring. We have been working on a lot of knock down shots and have been focusing on those types of shots in practice recently.”
ISU is again led by Pulsawath, the junior from Bangkok, Thailand. Pulsawath is now in her third season as ISU's anchor in the lineup, leading the team in stroke average (76.33) and top-10 finishes (3). Her confidence is soaring after an exceptional outing at the Indiana Invitational, where she finished fifth in the strong field. Pulsawath placed 54th as a freshman and tied for 24th as a sophomore in her first two Big 12 Championships, and Martens believes her star is ready to rise again at this year's league showdown.
“Her game is really coming together right now,” said Martens. “She has been putting the ball great and she is just starting to believe in her game and starting to realize she doesn't have to back down to anyone she is going up against.”
Sophomore Victoria Stefansen, a native of Roervig, Denmark, has shown flashes of brilliance in her second season with the Cyclones. Stefansen, who is a two-time Big 12 Golfer of the Month selection this season, is second on the team in stroke average and is tied with Pulsawath with three top-10 finishes. She won medalist honors in ISU's final fall meet at the Challenge at Wolfdancer.
“Vic won a tournament in the fall, which was a really big breakthrough for her,” Martens said. “She has already won in Texas (Challenge at Wolfdancer in Austin, Texas) and hopefully she will have some of those same feelings when she returns. She has matured as a player so much in the past year. She understands it's not about hitting a perfect golf shot, it's more about hitting functional golf shots. She understands that better than anyone on our team and she has come a long way.”
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises on this year's team is the play of true freshman Kristin Paulson. The Ottumwa, Iowa native has posted a 78.97 stroke average while playing in all 10 events. Paulson tied the school-record for low 18-hole round earlier this season at the Mountain View Collegiate, carding a 69.
“She has worked on her short game a ton this year,” Martens said. “She has spent a lot of time around the greens and she is a great testament to what hard work can get you. She is always wanting to do more and asking what she can do to get better. She is such a coachable person in wanting to do whatever she can to be the best player.”
Sophomores Laurence Herman and Rachel Reed will also compete for the Cyclones this weekend. Herman, a native of Kortrijkm, Belgium, has a 79.0 stroke average and Reed, who hails from Peoria, Ill., is averaging 79.63 strokes per round. Reed has competed in all 10 events this year.
Players Mentioned
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