Sept. 27, 2005
Sunset Beach, S.C. - Two tournaments down; two team championships claimed; and two individual medalist honors. This is an amazing start for our program and the momentum keeps building. Our confidence is surging as we look forward to next week's Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate on our home course. We will attempt to make it three wins in a row and land ourselves in the WCU record book.
The trip to Myrtle Beach last weekend started just like any other; everybody staked claim on their favorite seat, white iPod earbuds were firmly in place, and the laughs had begun. We made it to Sylva and the "Check Engine" light on the van came on. So we turned around and headed back to the campus motor pool. After switching vans, we were off...again.
Myrtle Beach offered our team a great chance to bond both on and off the course. We stayed at "The Purple Cow," a beach house on Sunset Island. The house was great and boasted breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean. After the practice round, the six of us came back and spent some quality time playing in the water and relaxing on the beach.
The team dinner found us enjoying even more laughs, as each of us exchanged golf stories from our college history. After dinner, we made a Wal-Mart run to secure the essentials; water, Gatorade, granola bars, and bug spray for the following day.
Saturday's round was solid as the team posted a score of 295 to stand six strokes back of first-round leader Columbia. We endured sweltering heat and loads of bugs to have all six players score in the 70s for the second-time in the programs history.
After the round, four of us enjoyed time with our families before convening back at "The Purple Cow," to play cards, watch The President's Cup golf tournament on TV, study, and relax in preparation for the final day of competition.
Day two was not nearly as hot as the first thanks in large part to overcast skies and at times a slight drizzle. We were consistent, posting another 295 to win the tournament, and bettering the competition by three strokes. Ashley (Hovda) took home medalist honors with stellar scores of 68 and 70. It is great how our team lifts one another up and uses these tournaments to better ourselves both as golfers and individuals.
The van ride home was very mellow. Many of us took the opportunity to nap, read, and come down off the high of victory. This team has what it takes to post the best season record in school history. All six of us are hungry for even more success. We will continue to work hard in order to accomplish our goal of winning the Southern Conference Championship. GUH-HUH!
- 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 WCU Scholar Student-Athlete of the Year.
|
|
 |
