KENNESAW, G.A. – Following a successful fall campaign that included two top-three finishes, head coach Rhyll Brinsmead is looking for big things from her Kennesaw State women’s golf team heading into its 2015 spring campaign.
“We have been talking about day-to-day, shot-by-shot,” says Brinsmead. “The team is so ready to get out there and compete. I have so much confidence in these players, as a coach that is just the ideal place to be. We are just excited to get out there and compete.”
The Owls own an experienced and talented squad, including senior Kaew Preamchuen, who became the first Kennesaw State player to earn a Division I NCC Regional individual berth a season ago, and classmate Ines Lescudier, who led KSU in stroke average in the fall.
Along with the pair, the Owls have seniors Mette Kryger Pedersen and Hayley Clinning, as well as sophomores Dulcie Sverdloff and Laura Estefenn and freshman Henriette Nielsen.
“We have seven players on the roster and one through seven there is a lot of talent,” Brinsmead says. “The lineup for the first event will be Kaew, Laura, Ines, Dulcie and Henriette. They have put up the numbers early in the spring to qualify for the first event. Mette and Hayley will continue to work hard and honestly, on any given week we can take a different lineup. I have confidence in all seven of my players and we will see as the season progresses who is playing best at that time.”
KSU opens its six-tournament spring campaign with the Florida State Match-Up on Feb. 13-15 and will go up against big time programs including Virginia, Texas A&M and Missouri to name a few.
Other schedule highlights include the Hurricane Invitational, hosted by Miami on March 2-4 and the Rebel Intercollegiate, hosted by Ole Miss on April 3-5.
“Early in the spring I want to see where we are against some great competition and progress, and honestly I think we are ready to compete at the highest level,” says the eighth-year head coach. “I really like the work that they have put in and the scores that we have been putting together. Overall it is a really deep, competitive spring for us, which is what we need to succeed.”
The pinnacle of the regular season will be the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship on April 12-14, where the Owls have registered back-to-back runner-up finishes the last two seasons.
“The last couple of years we have come up short, but this year nothing but a win is going to be good enough,” says Brinsmead. “That is just not from me as a coach, but that is from the players. When we sat down at the start of the spring and I said what are your goals for the season, what do you want? And they not only want that conference championship, but they want a postseason berth and they want a shot at Nationals. I have a really competitive squad and they are really hungry for success.”
After seeing Preamchuen reach the post-season as an individual, the team is looking for the rest of the Owls to join her this season at NCAA Regionals on May 7-9, as well as becoming the first Kennesaw State women’s golf team to advance to the NCAA Championships at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, F.L., on May 22-27.
“You do want to go to Nationals as a team and the team I have right now, they deserve it,” Brinsmead says. “They work hard. We have four seniors on the squad and we want to send them out the right way with a deep run through post-season. I have Dulcie, Laura and Henriette as the underclassmen and they are eager to get out there and compete. It is a great position to be in right now.”
The Owls will start its journey to A-Sun and NCAA Championships this weekend at the Florida State Match-Up in Tallahassee, F.L., on Feb. 13-15.