By Jay McQuade
The DSC women’s golf team won four of five tournaments when the season began in the Fall. As the Spring schedule progressed, the team hit a bit of a rough patch. They weren’t winning as many tournaments as they hoped and expected, though, they still managed to place well.
“We’ve had a great season so far,” said Coach Brown. “We did better in the Fall than in the Spring, but we did pretty well.”
The Spring woes of the Falcon team didn’t toss them out of contention, but it threw them off mentally. “We started out okay in Jacksonville with a win,” Brown said. “We went up to South Carolina where it was windy and that’s where the team didn’t play well. They lost a little confidence because of it.”
The frustration didn’t last too long as the team made progression elsewhere on the road. “They did well at the event in Georgia,” Brown said. “That’s where they got it back together and gained their confidence back.”
In early April, the Falcons placed first at the Jacksonville University Spring Invitational in St. Augustine. In their return to Jacksonville, they beat out not only Jacksonville University, but Division I schools like Florida Atlantic University and the University of Cincinnati. By no surprise, Mitsuki Katahira placed first in the individual standings.
This April, Katahira was ranked No.1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Earlier this year she was the No.2-ranked female golfer in the collegiate nation. The prior season, she was the No.1-ranked female golfer in junior college and won the 2010 NJCAA National Championship individually.
Katahira gets high regard from her coach as well. “She’s an outstanding talent,” Brown said about her superstar. “So far she’s won nine out of 11 tournaments. She’s also getting a lot of attention from the media.” Currently, Katahira maintains the lowest scoring average in the collegiate nation at 70.
Earlier in the season, Brown said Katahira worked harder than any player who ever went through her program. Brown also mentioned then that she had plans to go through the LPGA qualifying process next Fall to potentially play on the tour in 2012.
The team’s captain, Ericka Schneider, was very optimistic going into this season. “Ericka’s maintained the number two spot so far this year,” Brown said about her captain. “She’s a little disappointed in her game so far, but she’s played very solid this year.”
Brown said Schneider’s goal is to work really hard on her short game, and, overall, she’s doing a great job of it. Next year, Schneider will be playing in the SEC for the University of Mississippi as she accepted a scholarship from the school earlier in the season.
As for the two freshmen, Kelly Miller and Kaylee Random, there’s a lot resting on their shoulders next season, but this season has been a great learning experience as they get to play under a great class of sophomores. “Kelly’s been pretty consistent,” Brown said. “She hit a rough patch in Spring, but she’s been getting back on track recently. Kaylee’s also improved quite a bit this year.”
Next year, Brown said that they will be the only two players remaining. Brown has went through a recruiting process recently and is optimistic about the six new players who will arrive in Daytona next year.
In mid-April, the Falcons competed in the NJCAA Region VIII Championship against Seminole State College. The Falcons dominated the tournament and had four players finish in the top five in the individual standings.
By winning this tournament, the team has clinched a spot to compete in the National Championship.
The NJCAA Women’s National Golf Championship begins May 16 at the LPGA International Golf Club in Daytona Beach. The Falcons won it all last year and in their minds are destined to win it again.