There aren’t many year-round outdoor collegiate sports and it’s easy to see why. Winter weather can put a damper on training, as competitive teams try to maintain their skill levels heading into the spring season.
That was the case for the Idaho women’s golf team that has been training since the end of January for its first tournament. The Vandals compete Monday and Tuesday at the UC Irvine Invitational at Irvine, Calif., to begin the spring season.
“I felt like the beginning couple weeks of our practice were great,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said. “Then we got hit by the bad weather, so we fell about a week and a half behind in our practice plan.”
Johnson said the team primarily practices in Lewiston and Clarkston at the Lewiston Country Club and Gateway Driving Range respectively, but poor weather closed the courses earlier in the month. The team also has small indoor hitting room at the University of Idaho Golf Course and a putting area in the Kibbie Dome.
“We do putt and hit balls indoors a little bit, but primarily we are just going down to the valley to see the ball fly and play on real grass,” Johnson said.
Despite the setbacks from the weather, Johnson said she is content with how well the team has prepared for its first tournament.
In preparation for the UC Irvine Invitational, the Vandals recently went to the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla, Wash., to compete and simulate a competitive atmosphere, she said.
As far as the actual tournament, Johnson said she isn’t too concerned about how the team places or how it scores. She said it is more about focusing on improvement, so the team is in top shape come the WAC Tournament in April.
“The team has a very strong understanding that our goal this spring is to win the conference championship,” Johnson said. “So every tournament is a stepping stone to help us prepare for that tournament.”
Idaho will be going up against some tough competition in California. Teams from Stanford, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Pepperdine and Gonzaga are among the toughest teams the Vandals will be competing against.
Idaho played the course, the Santa Ana Country Club, last year which may give the team an advantage on Monday. Johnson said the team was too conservative on the course last year so the Vandals will be coming in with a more aggressive mindset this time.
A couple Vandals that could potentially impress at UC Irvine are junior Leilanie Kim and freshman Amy Hasenoehrl. Kim was arguably Idaho’s best golfer in the fall, as she was the top Vandal finisher in their first three tournaments. Hasenoehrl, a Lewiston native, has been impressive in practice and heads into the spring season as Idaho’s No. 1 golfer, which is no surprise as she is used to the Idaho
winter weather.
“I grew up around here so I’ve been used to the weather and I’ve always played in this kind of weather,” Hasenoehrl said. “I think high school golf really prepares you for it too, because it’s rainy or windy every tournament.”
Idaho enters the spring season as the top ranked WAC team by Golfweek, but the pressure to live up to those expectations won’t come until April. For now, the Vandals will see how they do in their first spring tournament in Irvine.
“We have a highly talented team,” Johnson said. “Our goal this spring is to just put four good scores together every round. That’s something that we struggled with in the fall.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]