Sept. 13, 2005
Ft. Chiswell, Va. -
The sun has set on the opening day of the fall golf season, and all of our hard practices paid off. We're right where we wanted to be....on top of the leader board. Today was a spectacular day highlighted by sunny skies, mountain views, and a slight breeze to chill the air. In other words, it was an absolute beautiful day for golf. We arrived at the course this morning at 8:00 for warm-ups only to hear an announcement that we were under a fifteen minute fog delay. Fifteen minutes turned into a half hour, then forty-five minutes, and then an hour. We finally started teeing off at 10:02 and we never looked back.
Despite a somewhat slow start, being a couple over par after precious few holes, we rallied back and began playing like we knew we could. Everybody played with a keen interest for the team first, and we picked it up after the first nine holes. On the back nine we tapped into a bit of that FDNY courage, and our scores improved drastically. Since golf is such a mental game, it's a great testament to our team's attitude to battle back after not beginning like we had hoped to.
After everybody completed eighteen holes we quickly totaled our team score in our heads. 293 - only five over par as a team, and two strokes off the Western single round scoring record. Not too shabby considering it was the first day of the entire season. I think that this team is capable of not only matching but shattering that record on any given day.
We stand nine strokes ahead of second place Belmont, and we hope to distance ourselves even more from the pack on Tuesday. Individually we have two players tied for the lead (Brandy Andersen and Malin Fryk), and Kandy Carland is only one stroke behind them. Ashley Hovda and myself stand deadlocked in twenty-second place, and Bianca Melone is also in the top thirty. This is the first day in Lady Catamount Golf history that all scoring players as well as the individual have shot in the seventies.
We have a load of confidence headed into tomorrow's round. We realize that this tournament is ours to win and our goal is nothing short of accomplishing that feat. If we can continue our solid play tomorrow, we should be able to achieve that goal.
"Golf is a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tells you to do, and what your nerves let you do."
If our team can balance these three elements, we should be where we want to be when the sun sets on Tuesday evening.
GO CATS!!!
- Erika Danford is a senior on the Western Carolina women's golf team who transferred to Western from the University of Florida prior to the 2004-05 season ... Danford was one of two female Catamount student-athletes honored as the 2004-05 Student-Athlete of the Year.
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On a foggy Sunday morning, the Catamount women's golf team prepares to depart for their season-opening tournament.
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Golfers Bianca Melone (far left), Kandy Carland (middle) and Ashley Hovda load up for the trip.
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One last photo op before the road.
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The team members spent their time on the road doing different things; upperclassmen Ashley Hovda (left) and Bianca Melone passing the time;
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Sophomore Malin Fryk spent her time doing school work;
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While senior Brandy Andersen did her best to catch up on sleep;
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Head coach Steve Lott driving the team van.
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The new purple and gold bags for the WCU women's golf team...
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which the team adorned with "FDNY" ribbons to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11.
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Time to tee it up; Bianca Melone drives during Sunday's practice round.
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Senior Ashley Hovda looks to continue her great play from the summer, where she qualified for the US Women's Amateur Championships.
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Senior Brandy Andersen from the fairway.
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Similar placement for sophomore Kandy Carland during the practice round.
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Sophomore Malin Fryk putts during the Sunday's practice.
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Hovda survey's the rolling terrain at Draper Valley...
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then lines up her putt during practice.
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Head coach Steve Lott addresses the concerns of Andersen.
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Melone prepares for her putt.
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Kandy Carland and Erika Danford take time to pose for a photo during Sunday's practice round.
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Western took six golfers to the Draper Valley Intercollegiate -- all seen here trudging up the Draper Valley fairway.
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