Ball State University Athletics
Preview: Women's Golf Prepares For 2007-08 Season
August 24, 2007 | Women's Golf
MUNCIE, Ind. -- For the Ball State women's golf team, fourth-year head coach Katherine Mowat knows that talent will not be a problem in the 2007-2008 season.
Mowat returns four of her five top players from last season as well as adding two talented freshman. In all, the 2007-2008 squad boasts one junior, four sophomores, two freshman but no seniors.
Kirsty O'Conner, Amy Roberts, Sarah Windlan and Mellisa Miller bring not just talent, but experience as well. The four played in almost every tournament Ball State participated in during the fall and spring seasons a year ago, culminating with a sixth-place finish out of eight teams at the MAC Championship.
Ball State was lead last season by senior Kallie Harrison. Harrison set the school record for an 18-hole course with a round of 71 at Highlands Ranch Golf Course in Denver, Colo. She also set a 54-hole school record by shooting a 221 (75-71-75) at the same golf course. Harrison was the on-course leader, as well as the team captain for the Cardinals last year.
This year, that role has been put on the shoulders of junior Sarah Windlan.
“Sarah has taken over the role of team captain and we are very fortunate to have someone with her leadership skills,” Mowats said. “She is an ideal student-athlete, works very hard on her game and also works very hard in the classroom.”
Windlan played in all 15 tournaments for BSU as a sophomore and will lead the Cardinals into the 2007-2008 looking to capture the program's first MAC Title.
With a win at the Butler Spring Invitational in 2007 -- where Ball State was led by Kirsty O'Connor and Sarah Windlan -- the returning group is no strangers to victory.
Windlan will lead an eager group of sophomores into the 2007-2008 season, led by O'Connor and Roberts.
O'Connor and Roberts were no strangers to success during their freshman year at Ball State in 2006-07. After joining the BSU golf team -- O'Connor from the U.K. and Roberts from Ontario ? the tandem showed just how well they had adjusted to life at Ball State.
“Bringing in a freshman, even if it's just from down the road, there is always an uncertainty as to how they will adjust and adapt to college life,” Mowat said. “ One thing that helped them immediately was their teammates. They were able to make instant and solid bonds with their teammates.”
O'Connor and Roberts both have a year of experience now as Ball State golfers and each have led the Cardinals in at least one tournament. Roberts led all Ball State golfers at the Tri-State University Fall Thunder Invitational, where Ball State finished second out of 13 teams. The then-freshman also led the team at the UC Women's Collegiate Invitational where Ball State finished third out of 11 teams.
“They both performed well last year and now that they have matured and grown, the possibilities are really limitless to how good they can be.”
O'Connor led the Cardinals to a fifth-place finish out of nine teams at the Cincinnati Fall Classic. O'Connor also led Ball State to a first-place finish at the Butler Spring Invitational, where she finished tied for first with Windlan -- each with a two-round total of 156.
Miller completes the list of returning Ball State golfers for the coming season. Miller played in 11 of 15 rounds Ball State participated in during the 2006-07 season. Her best finish came at the Butler Spring Invitational, where she finished tied for 14th while helping the BSU golf team win the team title.
Mowat welcomes yet another international player to her roster in 2007-08 with the addition of Paige Esford from Kingston, Ontario.
“Paige was not highly recruited out of high school due to her lack of exposure,” Mowat said. “She is a very talented and very motivated athlete. She is one of those diamond in the rough players who has the ability to have a great collegiate golfing career.”
Mowat believes the freshman class of Brittany Kelly and Rachael Pruett is as highly talented as any other recruiting class ever brought in.
“They both have had a tremendous amount of competitive experience and national-level experience. There is no question, these two are among the best players in the state of Indiana and we are excited to have them at Ball State. They are very strong players both emotionally and physically and in golf that is a huge advantage.”
Kelly is the 2006 Indiana PGA Women's Open Champion and the USGA Junior Qualifier Champion.
“She has been exposed to the atmosphere of winning and I am looking for her to have an immediate impact on our program,” Mowat said.
Kelly has a unique connection with Ball State athletics. Her father, Ken Kelly, was a student athlete for the Cardinals and competed in the pole vault, while her sister, Ashley, just graduated from Ball State.
Pruett joins the Ball State golf team with a winning attitude as well. She was her school's low medalist in every dual in which she competed in.
“Rachael is a dedicated student as well as a gifted athlete,” Mowat said. “Ball State is a good fit for her both academically and athletically.”
Ball State opens its season at Tri-State then moves on to play the MAC Tournament Preview and finishes the fall season at the UNCG/Starmount Fall Classic in Greensboro N.C.
“I'm looking forward to placing well in tournaments and having team records broken and established,” Mowat said. “This team is ready. They are more motivated and ready than any team I have ever coached or have been a part of. I believe that with this team, the accomplishments are just around the corner.”
Mowat returns four of her five top players from last season as well as adding two talented freshman. In all, the 2007-2008 squad boasts one junior, four sophomores, two freshman but no seniors.
Kirsty O'Conner, Amy Roberts, Sarah Windlan and Mellisa Miller bring not just talent, but experience as well. The four played in almost every tournament Ball State participated in during the fall and spring seasons a year ago, culminating with a sixth-place finish out of eight teams at the MAC Championship.
Ball State was lead last season by senior Kallie Harrison. Harrison set the school record for an 18-hole course with a round of 71 at Highlands Ranch Golf Course in Denver, Colo. She also set a 54-hole school record by shooting a 221 (75-71-75) at the same golf course. Harrison was the on-course leader, as well as the team captain for the Cardinals last year.
This year, that role has been put on the shoulders of junior Sarah Windlan.
“Sarah has taken over the role of team captain and we are very fortunate to have someone with her leadership skills,” Mowats said. “She is an ideal student-athlete, works very hard on her game and also works very hard in the classroom.”
Windlan played in all 15 tournaments for BSU as a sophomore and will lead the Cardinals into the 2007-2008 looking to capture the program's first MAC Title.
With a win at the Butler Spring Invitational in 2007 -- where Ball State was led by Kirsty O'Connor and Sarah Windlan -- the returning group is no strangers to victory.
Windlan will lead an eager group of sophomores into the 2007-2008 season, led by O'Connor and Roberts.
O'Connor and Roberts were no strangers to success during their freshman year at Ball State in 2006-07. After joining the BSU golf team -- O'Connor from the U.K. and Roberts from Ontario ? the tandem showed just how well they had adjusted to life at Ball State.
“Bringing in a freshman, even if it's just from down the road, there is always an uncertainty as to how they will adjust and adapt to college life,” Mowat said. “ One thing that helped them immediately was their teammates. They were able to make instant and solid bonds with their teammates.”
O'Connor and Roberts both have a year of experience now as Ball State golfers and each have led the Cardinals in at least one tournament. Roberts led all Ball State golfers at the Tri-State University Fall Thunder Invitational, where Ball State finished second out of 13 teams. The then-freshman also led the team at the UC Women's Collegiate Invitational where Ball State finished third out of 11 teams.
“They both performed well last year and now that they have matured and grown, the possibilities are really limitless to how good they can be.”
O'Connor led the Cardinals to a fifth-place finish out of nine teams at the Cincinnati Fall Classic. O'Connor also led Ball State to a first-place finish at the Butler Spring Invitational, where she finished tied for first with Windlan -- each with a two-round total of 156.
Miller completes the list of returning Ball State golfers for the coming season. Miller played in 11 of 15 rounds Ball State participated in during the 2006-07 season. Her best finish came at the Butler Spring Invitational, where she finished tied for 14th while helping the BSU golf team win the team title.
Mowat welcomes yet another international player to her roster in 2007-08 with the addition of Paige Esford from Kingston, Ontario.
“Paige was not highly recruited out of high school due to her lack of exposure,” Mowat said. “She is a very talented and very motivated athlete. She is one of those diamond in the rough players who has the ability to have a great collegiate golfing career.”
Mowat believes the freshman class of Brittany Kelly and Rachael Pruett is as highly talented as any other recruiting class ever brought in.
“They both have had a tremendous amount of competitive experience and national-level experience. There is no question, these two are among the best players in the state of Indiana and we are excited to have them at Ball State. They are very strong players both emotionally and physically and in golf that is a huge advantage.”
Kelly is the 2006 Indiana PGA Women's Open Champion and the USGA Junior Qualifier Champion.
“She has been exposed to the atmosphere of winning and I am looking for her to have an immediate impact on our program,” Mowat said.
Kelly has a unique connection with Ball State athletics. Her father, Ken Kelly, was a student athlete for the Cardinals and competed in the pole vault, while her sister, Ashley, just graduated from Ball State.
Pruett joins the Ball State golf team with a winning attitude as well. She was her school's low medalist in every dual in which she competed in.
“Rachael is a dedicated student as well as a gifted athlete,” Mowat said. “Ball State is a good fit for her both academically and athletically.”
Ball State opens its season at Tri-State then moves on to play the MAC Tournament Preview and finishes the fall season at the UNCG/Starmount Fall Classic in Greensboro N.C.
“I'm looking forward to placing well in tournaments and having team records broken and established,” Mowat said. “This team is ready. They are more motivated and ready than any team I have ever coached or have been a part of. I believe that with this team, the accomplishments are just around the corner.”
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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