Completed Event: Women's Golf versus Stanford Intercollegiate on October 17, 2025 , , 9th/19
Final
Women's Golf
Stanford Intercollegiate
9th/19
Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Open Season at Ron Moore Intercollegiate
09.20.2009 | Women's Golf
Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Date: Sept. 21-23
Course: Highlands Ranch Golf Club
Location: Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Tournament Host: Denver
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,483
Teams Competing: Iowa State, Denver, Arkansas-Little Rock, UC Davis, North Texas, New Mexico State, Illinois, Montana State, Wyoming, Baylor, Northern Colorado, Nebraska, Columbia
Cyclones Competing: Pennapa Pulsawath, Kristin Paulson, Punpaka Phuntumabamrung, Victoria Stefansen, Laurence Herman
Livestats: golfstat.com
Season Preview
The Iowa State women's golf team will begin its 2009-10 season this week at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Denver, Colo., Sept. 21-13. The Cyclones welcome everybody back from last year's squad, and from top to bottom, it could be the most potent lineup in ISU head coach Christie Martens' tenure in Ames.
“It is really exciting and awesome to have everyone back and ready to go,” Martens said. “Everyone has gotten a little better than they were last year. They have more experience, they are more tested under competition and their games are better. I am optimistic to watch how they compete in our first tournament, they played really well in qualifying and hopefully that is going to translate into tournament play.”
ISU's lone senior Pennapa Pulsawath is hoping to end her sensational Cyclone career on a strong note. The Bangkok, Thailand, native already will go down as one of the greatest players in school history. Pulsawath has two of the top-three single-season stroke averages in school history and her 76.9 career scoring mark ranks second in the ISU record book. Martens knows what she's going to get out of Pulsawath when she tees off.
“She is a great ambassador for Iowa State and she has loved her time here,” Martens said. “She knows that there are a lot of goals out there that she hasn't accomplished and she wants to be at the top of all of our records.”
There is a lot of talent to complement Pulsawath in ISU's top-five in juniors Victoria Stefansen and Laurence Herman and sophomores Kristin Paulson and Rachel Reed. All four competed in the majority of the meets last season and have the capability to post low numbers.
Stefansen, a native of Roervig, Denmark, had the second-best stroke average on the team (77.3) and was named Big 12 Golfer of the Month twice during the 2008-09 season. She tallied three top-10 finishes, including medalist honors at the Challenge at Wolfdancer when she carded a career-low 221.
“Vic has really figured it out and she knows what she has to do to compete at this level,” Martens said. “She can be able to be in a bad position and still be able to shoot a good score. When you see her, she will be everywhere, but she still finds a way to make par. That is the great thing about her game. She plays very exciting golf.”
Herman, who hails from Kortrijk, Belgium, is another seasoned veteran on the Cyclone squad. She compiled a 78.9 stroke average a year ago and was ISU's best finisher at the 2009 Big 12 Championships with a 14th-place finish.
“Laurence had a great summer and she is playing some of the best golf in her career over the past two weeks of qualifying,” Martens said. “I think that she'll be able to turn some heads in tournaments this year.”
Paulson, a native of Ottumwa, Iowa, posted one of the best rookie seasons in ISU history last season. She played in every tournament as a true freshman, recording a 79.4 stroke average. Paulson, who qualified for both the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and U.S. Amateur this past summer, shares the school record for lowest 18-hole score after carding a 69 at the Mountain View Collegiate in the spring of 2009.
“Kristin had a great summer and she has come a long way with her game,” Martens said. “Her short game has really improved and she is the longest ball striker on the team by far. It will be exciting to watch her develop over the next three years because she has a lot of talent and is going to be a great player.”
Reed was perhaps the biggest surprise of the team last season. Reed sat out as a redshirt her first season and immediately found her way into the lineup to start the 2008-09 campaign. The Peoria, Ill., native played in all 11 events last year, compiling a 79.5 stroke average and finishing 15th at the Big 12 Championships.
Martens certainly took notice of Reed's improvement.
“Rachel probably had the quickest improvement in my time of coaching to go from not really contending to being a perennial top five,” Martens noted. “She works hard, is a competitor and is a great teammate.”
Martens brought in an outstanding recruit in freshman Punpaka Phuntumabamrung. She comes to ISU from Bangkok, Thailand where she tallied a sterling junior golf record. Martens feels she could make an immediate impact this season.
“Punpaka is a really consistent player,” Martens said. “She is not flashy and she hits it down the middle. She is all fairways, greens and putting. She is going to go through challenges playing in her first collegiate events, but it will be exciting to see what she can do.”
One of ISU's strengths is its high competition level in practice. Sophomore Katelynn Hogenson and freshman Katie Suckow have continued to improve in their time in Ames and have proved they could contend for spots in the top-five.
“They (Hogenson and Suckow) have been pushing the top five and everyone knows they have to play their best golf to keep their spot in the lineup,” Martens said.
“I think we have one of our best teams,” Martens said. “I feel we have stability and everyone is capable of shooting good scores.”
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