By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org
MINNEAPOLIS – A quick glance at the final team results from the Minnesota Invitational Tuesday may not be enough to get excited about initially, but the University of Minnesota women’s golf team has plenty to be proud of after opening the 2014-15 at the Minikahda Club.
The Gophers finished the 54-hole tournament at 48-over par 912, good enough for seventh place, but three players finished inside the Top-10, two of which were playing in their first collegiate events.
Senior Anna Laorr took second place Tuesday after posting two consecutive rounds under par to open the tournament before shooting 2-over par 74 on the final day, finishing at 1-under par 215.
Sabrine Garrison, a freshman from Calgary, fired a 2-under par 70 during her first round of college golf before following it with a 2-over par 74 during Monday afternoon’s round.
On the final day Tuesday, Garrison fired a 4-over par 76 to finish tied for third at 4-over par 220 at her first collegiate event competing as an individual.
Highly touted two-time Minnesota Class 3A state champion, Celia Kuenster, also contributed during the opening tournament of the season as Kuenster carded a 2-over par 74 during the first round Monday, answering with a 3-over par 75 during the second round.
Kuenster, a two-time Minnesota Women’s State Amateur champion, came back with an even par 72 during Tuesday’s final round to finish tied for sixth at 221.
The Gophers are coming off one of the best seasons in recent history as the NCAA Regional appearance last season was the seventh in the program’s history and a victory at the Brigham Young University Entrada Classic in March was the school’s first in six seasons.
“I think we have a lot more talent this year,” Gopher head coach Michele Redman said Monday, entering her fourth season. "The great thing about all of our ladies is that they’re coachable and they listen—they understand that we know golf and we’re going to do what’s best for them.”
Senior Carmen Laguna returns after appearing in 11 tournaments a year ago while her 74.19 currently stands as a new Minnesota women’s golf record.
Laguna, Tomares-Sevilla, Spain, led the team in five tournaments last year with three Top-10 finishes and six inside the Top-20.
Bangkok native Sarinee Thitiratanakorn returns for her senior season after competing in all 11 events last season. Her 75.88 stroke average in ninth in school history and Thitiratanakorn set career bests in three categories last year.
Sophomore Emie Peronnin, Frejus, France, looks to improve on her freshman year as she played in all 11 tournaments for the Gophers. Her best performance came at the University of Central Florida Challenge where she collected her best round (69), best finish (tied for 18th), tournament score (216), and tournament score to par (even par).
Sophie Kitchen, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, brings experience as she appeared in seven tournaments during her freshman season while posting a 75.87 scoring average. She fired a 68 at the Web.com Intercollegiate where she finished tied for 31st at 6-over par 222.
East Carolina University led after the first and second rounds, cruising during the final round to a 21-stroke victory over the University of Colorado.
ECU’s Frida Gustafsson Spang also led the individual competition as she earned medalist honors, finishing at 9-under par 207, a new tournament record.
During her second round Monday, Laorr carded a single birdie with 17 pars to shoot 1-under and carried her consistent play into a third consecutive round Tuesday with one birdie, one bogey and one double-bogey to shoot 2-over par 72, finishing in second place.
“My first round I made almost everything I looked at. I made four birdies, which is pretty rare for me and had chips at 15, 16 and 17 that all went inside a foot,” Laorr said of her opening round Monday.
“I was a little nervous playing another 18 after playing so well because you never want to go 70 and then 85, but I tried to stay in my game and forget the first round ever happened,” Laorr said. “I made 13 straight pars before I finally birdied 14. At that point my goal was to keep a bogey-free round because I’ve never done that in a college tournament. I was more proud of the lack of bogeys than the 70 in the first round.”
Laorr, Eden Prairie, Minn., said the final round Tuesday was the best she felt hitting the ball all week, but just couldn’t things to happen on the green.
“I hit the ball the best today but I didn’t really make anything. I had a lot of good 10 to 15-foot looks at birdie that I missed. I’m right there and sometimes the putts don’t fall, but I salvaged a 74, which on this course is fine.”
Kuenster rolled in three consecutive birdies on the back nine with a pair of bogeys to make the turn at 1-under before two quick bogeys put her at 1-over. She rebounded with a birdie at the par-3 sixth and finished the day at even par 72.
“It’s kind of unbelievable,” Kuenster said of finishing her first collegiate tournament. “It seems like a long time ago that I committed and to be able to finally tee it up was a lot of fun.”
“The first round was a little bit of a struggle; I didn’t feel that nervous, my tempo was off and I had to grind it out. In the second round I thought I hit the ball really well, I just made nothing. Today was a lot better—I hit the ball great. I finally made some putts today, making five birdies on this course is hard to do, so I just need to stay patient,” she said.
Redman emphasized numerous times after the final round that her biggest challenge early on will be starting the right golfers at the right time.
“Right now I have to get the lineup right, and I probably didn’t this week,” Redman said. “If we get the lineup right—we finish second this week. The key for me is to get the five players that are playing the best at that particular time into the lineup.”
“We had a couple players that I know didn’t play as well as they would’ve liked and a couple of new ones that played really well. Once we get the lineup where I want it, I think we’re going to do a lot of great things,” she said. “We don’t talk about scores or outcome. We talk about the process and things to prepare themselves mentally to go out and play the best golf they can play.”
2014 MINNESOTA INVITATIONAL
THE MINIKAHDA CLUB
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
6,119 YARDS, PAR 72
FINAL TEAM RESULTS
1. East Carolina, 294-287-298—879
2. Colorado, 309-297-294—900
3. Kansas, 302-303-300—905
T4. GRU-Augusta, 300-301-306—907
T4. Texas, 305-301-301—907
6. Purdue, 308-292-310—910
7. MINNESOTA, 311-299-302—912
8. Kent State, 201-307-306—914
9. SMU, 307-305-306—918
10. Illinois, 319-293-308—920
11. Fresno State, 311-313-300—924
12. Nebraska, 312-309-308—929
13. CSU-Fullerton, 309-308-314—931
14. Texas State, 314-299-319—932
FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Frida Gustafsson Spang, ECU, 69-66-72—207
2. ANNA LAORR, MINNESOTA, 70-71-74—215
T3. Bertine Strauss, Texas, 70-76-74—220
T3. Martina Edberg, CSU-Fullerton, 74-72-74—220
T3. SABRINE GARRISON, MINNESOTA, 70-74-76—220
T6. CELIA KUENSTER, MINNESOTA, 74-75-72—221
T6. Gabby DiMarco, Kansas, 71-74-76—221
T8. Esther Lee, Colorado, 75-76-71—222
T8. Anna Appert Lund, Purdue, 71-74-77—222
10. Lisa Pettersson, ECU, 75-75-74—224
T46. CASSIE DEEG, NEBRASKA, 78-80-76—234
T53. EMIE PERONNIN, MINNESOTA, 80-77-81—238
T62. SOPHIE KITCHEN, MINNESOTA, 83-80-77—240
64. SARINEE THITIRATANAKORN, MINNESOTA, 84-77-80—241
T65. CARMEN LAGUNA, MINNESOTA, 87-76-79—242
T65. HEATHER CISKOWSKI, MINNESOTA, 83-79-80—242
74. ALEXANDRA BUSKA, MINNESOTA, 85-89-90—264
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