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Sept. 14, 2012
SEATTLE -- The Husky women's golf team opens up their fall season this Monday and Tuesday when they go down to Corvallis, Ore. and play in the Oregon State Invitational at Trysting Tree Golf Club. Washington, which saw its 2011-12 season end after a 13th- place finish at the NCAA East Regional tournament, begins the 2012-13 campaign with renewed hope and vigor. The Huskies are going through a youth movement, evidenced by their lineup at the season-opening tournament in Corvallis. Head Coach Mary Lou Mulflur, who is entering her 30th season of leading the Huskies, will trot out a lineup on Monday that features three sophomores and two freshmen. That is not to say that the expectations will not be high for the squad, despite its obvious inexperience. Freshman Charlotte Thomas earned her way right to the top of the lineup in pre-season qualifying and will be initiated into college golf as the team's No. 1 golfer for the first tournament. Thomas, who has played the last five years in Singapore after coming over from Surrey, England, is one of the Huskies most decorated recruits in recent memory. She enters her college career as the 54th ranked player in the R&A's World Amateur Rankings and so far, has not disappointed since arriving in the state of Washington. Nipping at Thomas' heels for claims as the No. 1 golfer is Pac-12 Second Team member and honorable mention All-America sophomore SooBin Kim. Kim will look to build upon one of the best freshman seasons in UW history and avoid the sophomore slump. She has the game to do just that and will be counted on to form a formidable 1-2 punch at the top of the Huskies lineup. Joining Thomas and Kim in the team portion of play in Corvallis will be sophomores Jennifer Yang and Cyd Okino, plus freshman Ying Luo. Yang had a stellar freshman season and advanced to match play in the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship. She has shown that she can be a force to be reckoned with and is knocking on the door to earn her first collegiate win. Her short game is second to none and if she is in contention, others better watch out for Yang. Okino had a solid freshman year for Mulflur and looks to build on that. She spent the offseason in her native Hawai'i and played regularly during the summer. The Huskies wildcard is Luo. The walk-on from China flew under the recruiting radar, but Mulflur feels she will have a very productive career at the UW. The long-hitter held off veteran Kelli Bowers in qualifying to earn the fifth spot in the lineup this upcoming week. Bowers, Brittany Tallman and Monica Huang will all be competing for the Huskies as individuals. Bowers, a junior from Chelan, has the most collegiate experience under her belt and promises to push for spots in the lineup moving forward. She narrowly lost to Luo for the fifth spot this week. Tallman is the lone senior on the roster and Huang is a freshman who delayed enrollment into the UW last January. Both can contribute when needed. The first test for Washington comes at Trysting Tree, a par-72, 6,141-yard course. A total of 16 teams will be teeing it up for 36 holes of action on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday. Action this Monday begins with a 9:00 a.m. shotgun start. Joining the Huskies in Corvallis will be: Boise State, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Hawai'I, Idaho, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Oregon State, Portland State, San Francisco, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Utah Valley, Washington State and Weber State. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com and daily recaps can be found on GoHuskies.com. | |||||||||||||||
