Gophers Begin Spring Season at UCF

Feb. 6, 2015

UCF Challenge Live Scoring

The University of Minnesota women's golf program will open their spring season next week at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla. The tournament held at the Eagle Creek Golf Club will begin on Sunday and will conclude on Tuesday.

"This is a really great course so the competition won't only be the conference or the other competitors, so much as the course itself and getting the team back into it after a long winter break," said head coach Michele Redman. "UCF and Virginia will be tough coming out of the gate though."

About the UCF Challenge

The 2015 UCF Challenge at the Eagle Creek Golf Club will open competition 8:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. The par-72, 6,349-yard course will challenge collegiate golfers from 18 schools . Minnesota currently sits ranked No. 51, following the conclusion of their fall season. Joining the Gophers and host team, No. 21 UCF is fellow Big Ten competitor, No. 47 Wisconsin. The rest of the field is comprised of No. 57 Campbell, No. 61 East Carolina, No. 32 Iowa State, No. 63 Kentucky, No. 29 Louisville, No. 45 Miami, No. 40 SMU, No. 58 Texas, No. 96 Texas State, No. 41 Tulane, No. 65 USF, No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 17 Virginia, No. 148 Western Carolina and Rollins College, ranked 14th among Division II schools.

"It's going to be tough to avoid not being hard on ourselves starting off the tournament season again, but luckily to start out we'll have a practice round to work out being a little rusty after winter break," said senior captain Anna Laorr. "Orlando is one of the longer courses we'll play this spring, but it's pretty straight with ability for wide-sided bunker shots which is what we're been practicing a lot of, as well as longer bump and run shots."

2014 UCF Challenge

Last season, the Maroon and Gold tied for fifth among 19 teams and tied the school's 54-hole record after shooting five-over par, (295-287-287--869).

Emie Peronnin (72-69-75--216) and Carmen Laguna (76-71-69-216), both earned spots in the top-20 players list of the tournament after finishing at even-par.

"Last year was definitely highlighted by impressive rounds of golf and there was clear definition of who the traveling team was," said Laorr. "In the fall, we switched up the line-up every tournament which helped grow the team chemistry, especially amongst the ones who travel every week."

Last Time Out - Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown

In the final fall tournament, the Gophers impressed both individually and as a team recording a handful of new records and with a combined score of 278, 10-under-par, nabbed a share of the tournament title with San Diego State.

"We have the potential to be that good at every tournament, the way we performed in Vegas," said Redman. "It's about trying to get our top five girls to click at the same time and that's what you saw happen there which accounted for so much success."

On the final day of the tournament, the team shot a combined 278, which qualified it for a program 18-hole record, besting the previous record of 281 set four years ago coincidentally at the same tournament. Adding to the record books, the team's tournament overall score of 863 (295-290-278) edged out the previous 54-hole record of 869, set during the 2014 spring season at the UCF Challenge.

Freshman Celia Kuenster posted four-under par which is the second-best 54-hole score in school history and finished third overall. Two strokes behind Kuenster was fellow freshman Sabrine Garrison who earned sixth place overall at -2 (73-74-67--214). Additionally, she now stands fourth in the 54-hole Gopher record book.

"From the Minnesota Invite to Vegas was a lot of personal mental growth for me," said Kuenster. "Gaining that mental toughness, working closely with the coaches and focusing on one shot at a time was really helpful to get to that Vegas performance."

Laorr tied for 15th at (72-76-71--219, +3). Adding to the impressive Gopher performance were fellow seniors Carmen Laguna (77-77-72--226, +10) and Sarinee Thitiratakorn (74-72-78--224, +8).

"Vegas was a great way to close the fall season because we have the true potential to keep that success going into the spring," said Laorr.

2014 Fall Season Recap

To begin the fall season, the Maroon and Gold hosted the Minnesota Invitational at the Minikahda Club where the team finished seventh with a final team score of +48 (311-299-302--912). Laorr was one of two golfers to fire below par and earned the tournament's runner-up spot (70-71-74--215).

Following the home tourney, the team traveled to Wilmette, Ill., for the Windy City Collegiate Classic. With an overall team score of (298-306-300--904, +40), the Gophers finished in 10th place. Kuenster was the lead scorer and ended tied for sixth at one-over par (72-73-72--217).

In their second-to-last tournament, Minnesota finished 13th overall at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Tex., (301-332-306--939, +75). Laguna led the way in scoring for the team and finished tied in 40th place (79-78-76-233, +17). One stroke behind was Laorr at +18 (73-84-77--234).

"The fall always holds a lot of back-and-forth success because you're building the team chemistry as well as getting into the competitive mindset," said Laorr. "My number one goal going into the spring is to not put too much pressure on myself because I know that's where a lot of seniors tend to stray. I'm not going to be turning pro after my collegiate career, so I really want to soak up this season and most importantly have fun."

Gophers Sign Three

During the winter break, the Gophers signed three prep golfers to National Letters of Intent for the 2015-2016 season. Joining the team will be Meagan Rachey (Waconia, Minn.), Niamh Ward (Lurgan, Northern Ireland) and Maggie Heggerston (Pequot Lakes, Minn.)

"Our three new signees will have immediate impact on the team next season and will keep the tradition going of great Minnesota golf," said Redman.

Looking Ahead

Following the UCF Challenge, the Gophers will travel back to Florida to partake in the Miami Hurricane Invitational, held March 2-4.

"For the spring, I don't really do a lot of expectations but I give the team certain things I want them to do and that's what I'll expect to be done, taken from a personal level," said Redman. "Looking at the result of a tournament is telling to whether or not they took those notes and did all they could to apply them. Each player is really different so you have to get to know them and gain their trust before they truly can excel and I'm excited to see how we've built upon that since the fall."

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Sabrine Garrison

Maggie Heggerston

Celia Kuenster

Carmen Laguna

Anna Laorr

Emie Peronnin

Upcoming Events

University of Minnesota Athletics