Idaho women’s golf No. 1 in Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll
Sometimes, the new kids on the block have a tough time earning the respect of their peers.
However, this is not the case for the Idaho women’s golf team as it transitions from the WAC to the Big Sky Conference. The Vandals are the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky Championship according to the conference’s preseason coaches poll. The Vandals finished second at the 2014 WAC Championship.
“That’s a great honor to be chosen by the coaches to be viewed as the best team,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said. “We are the best-ranked team in the conference, so it’s not surprising. However, it’s still nice to be recognized.”
File Photo by Hannah Sandoval | Argonaut
Sophomore Amy Hasenoehrl and senior Leilani’s Kim practice in the indoor putting room at the UI Golf Course on Feb. 19, 2014. The 2015 Idaho women’s golf team enters the season ranked No. 1 in the Big Sky. The Vandals open the season Sunday at the Delta Gamma Challenge in New Braunfels, Texas.
Often, high preseason rankings put pressure on teams, but Johnson said she doesn’t believe this will happen for Idaho.
“We’re proud of it,” Johnson said. “We don’t see it as pressure at all. It’s exciting to be the best-ranked team.”
Idaho earned eight first-place votes and 118 total points, while defending Big Sky champion Portland State finished second in the poll with four first-place votes and 114 total points.
Johnson said Portland State is a very good team and has been good for many years.
“They’ll give us a good run for our money at the conference championship, especially if their No. 1 player A Ram (Choi) is healthy,” Johnson said. “She’s the No. 1-ranked player in the conference.”
Johnson said Idaho senior Leilanie Kim is ranked No. 2 in the Big Sky.
The Vandals begin the spring season Sunday when they compete at the Texas State-hosted Delta Gamma Challenge in New Braunfels, Texas. Johnson said the teams will play 36 holes Sunday and 18 Monday.
“We’re one of the higher-ranked teams in this field as well, so it’ll be a good test for us to see how competitive we are, right out of the gate,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the mild winter allowed Idaho to practice effectively, so she hopes it translates to a faster start to the spring season than in previous years.
“It’s always interesting to see how we come out of the winter,” Johnson said. “Fortunately, we’ve had very good weather this year, which has allowed us to practice very effectively, so I look forward to watching us come out of the gates a little bit quicker than we have in recent years.”
Johnson said Idaho’s starting five golfers for the Delta Gamma Challenge will be Kim, senior Kaitlyn Oster, junior Kristin Strankman, sophomore Amy Hasenoehrl and freshman Kendall Gray.
In 2014, Kim won the individual WAC Championship and was named WAC Player of the Year.
Johnson said all eight Idaho golfers have improved since the fall.
“Kassidy (Long-Goheen), Mary (Sweeney) and Cassie (McKinley) have taken the most drives I would say over the course of the offseason,” Johnson said. “It’s exciting to see everyone elevate their game to try to propel us to the conference championship.”
The Vandals led the conference in average strokes per round with 298.39 in the fall season. Idaho’s highlight of the fall season came in October when the Vandals won the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational by 10 strokes over second-place Boise State. Oster finished in a three-way tie for first place at the invitational by shooting a three-round, 10-under-par 206.
Idaho competes in four invitationals this spring before competing in the Big Sky Conference Championship April 19-21 in Chandler, Arizona.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]