Colorado State University Athletics
Tournament Notes: Rams close regular season in Lubbock
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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PREVIEWING THE RED RAIDER INVITATIONAL
The Colorado State women's golf team will close the regular season this weekend in Lubbock, Texas, for the 14-team Red Raider Invitational. CSU will tee off Friday at 8 a.m. MT with rounds 1 and 2, followed by a third and final round Saturday morning. The tournament will be hosted by Texas Tech and played at The Rawls Course.
The field consists of: BYU (No. 25), Cal Poly (100), CSU (63), Iowa (81), Kansas (79), Kansas State (66), New Mexico (50), New Mexico State (75), North Texas (198), Purdue (41), SMU (28), Texas State (84), Texas Tech (26) and Tulsa (133).
A CUT ABOVE
This season, CSU has already set school records for single-round and tournament scores, but the team is also on pace to shatter the previous best team scoring average. The Rams' current team scoring average is 296.35. The current best of 301.73 was set in 2008-09. Contributing to the low figure is the fact that five of CSU's seven golfers hold individual stroke averages that would rank among the current top 10 in school history, including freshman Katrina Prendergast, whose 73.73 would be a school record.
MOVIN' ON UP
CSU began the season ranked 102nd nationally, but after strong performances throughout the season has jumped all the way to No. 63 in this week's GolfStat rankings. The Rams rose 29 spots in one week alone following the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational and Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate, and have been ranked as high as No. 62 after they finished ahead of then-No. 25 BYU at The Gold Rush in late February.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH YOUNG
(on what she likes most about her team)
"I think they battle. There are times where we get frustrated with where their scores end up, and they're frustrated with where their scores end up, but I can't say they quit; they never do. They fight until the end and have big goals and try to meet them. We obviously have things to improve upon, but they're battling and getting better."
(on who has improved the most this season)
"I think Katrina (Prendergast), coming in as a freshman, has been really impressive. Sara (Archuleta) has really stepped up. She's had a good attitude this semester, has worked hard and has been consistent for us."
(on what she wants her team to improve upon during the last regular-season tournament)
"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. Our focus right now is this weekend, and then we'll move on to the next."
(on how the team has grown since the start of the fall season)
"We've made huge strides from our home tournament clear back in September. If you put us back in the last day of that tournament when it was windy, I think we would handle it better now because of the training we've done. Last month, we had 30 mile-per-hour winds, but we went out and played and not one person complained about it. That's a huge difference from where we've been. There's still frustration; golf's tough, but we've made strides. We've seen glimpses of what we can be, and I think those moments have opened their eyes to what they're capable of."
SHATTERING RECORDS
CSU had a record-breaking performance at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 25-27), setting school records for a single round and tournament, in addition to several other highlights:
- Team score of 15-under 849 was a school record, shattering the previous best by 14 strokes (863 on Sept. 14, 2010).
- CSU shot under par during all three rounds, including a school-record 279 (9-under) during Round 2. The Rams also shot a 283 (fourth) and 287 (T-10th).
- All five golfers shot under par at least one round during the tournament.
- Freshman Katrina Prendergast's three-round total of 210 (6-under) marked the third-best score in school history. During Round 2, she tied a program record with a 5-under 67.
- Sophomore Allie Andersen carded a 3-under 213, tied for the 10th-best tournament score in school history.
SEASON REWIND
MountainView Collegiate - Freshman Katrina Prendergast continued her torrid play with a fifth-place finish, including a school-record-tying 67 (5-under) in Round 1. Her 2-under 214 for the tournament was the 11th-best performance in CSU history, helping CSU to a 24-over 888 and ninth-place finish out of 15 teams. CSU was in second place at the end of the first round.
Bay Area Intercollegiate -- First round was rained out, limiting teams to two rounds for the tournament. CSU struggled with the conditions and never rebounded, finishing 12th out of 13 teams (31-over 607), despite an 11-stroke improvement during Day 2. Katrina Prendergast tied for 14th with Washington's Charlotte Thomas (31st nationally) with a 3-over 147, her third top-20 finish in a row.
The Gold Rush -- Finished in fourth place out of 15 teams (28-over 892), including ahead of No. 25 BYU. Two Rams posted top-20 finishes, including the first top-10 performance of Katrina Prendergast's career. She carded a 4-over 220 (T-9th) while Allie Andersen shot an 8-over 224 (T-18th).
Dual vs. BYU -- Opened the spring season with a loss to No. 28 BYU, 878-861, in Phoenix, Ariz. CSU's three-round score of 878 was the eighth-best in school history, giving the team its third top-10 all-time finish of the season. CSU junior Elisabeth Rau led all Rams golfers with a 4-over 217 (fourth), including a career-low-tying 70 (1-under) in Round 1.
Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown -- Set school records for a tournament (15-under 849) and single-round (9-under 279), with all five golfers setting or tying career bests for a round and tournament. Overall, the Rams placed 11th out of 19 teams, with Katrina Prendergast (6-under 210) and Allie Andersen (3-under 213) carding the third- and 10th-best individual scores in CSU history.
Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate -- Finished in fourth place out of 18 teams (8-over -872), finishing with the program's lowest score and best finish -- at the time -- since 2009 (fourth-best in school history at the time). CSU improved every day, shooting the field's second-best score during the final round (1-over 289). Three Rams finished in the top 20, led by sophomore Allie Andersen (T-5th; 1-under 215).
Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational -- Finished ninth out of 13 teams (55-over 919), despite being ranked behind 11 of them entering the competition. CSU totaled the fourth-best Round-3 score in the field, moving up several spots on the final day. Elisabeth Rau paced CSU with her fourth career top-20 finish (T-12th; 9-over 225).
Rose City Collegiate -- The Rams rebounded from a 35-over on Day 1 to finish sixth out of 15 teams (42-over 906). Mikayla Tatman carded a 1-over 73 in Round 3, helping her tie for 23rd place out of 84 competitors (10-over 226). Katrina Prendergast shot par in the first and third rounds, tying for 21st overall (9-over 225).
Ptarmigan Ram Classic -- CSU opened the fall season with a seventh-place finish out of 17 teams in its home tournament, led by top-20 performances from Sarah Archuleta (T-8th; 4-over 220), Elisabeth Rau (T-15th; 6-over 222) and Mikayla Tatman (T-15th; 6-over 222). The Rams entered the final round tied for second and Rau was just one stroke off the lead.
YOUNG APPOINTED TO NCAA COMMITTEE
In September, CSU head women's golf coach Annie Young was named to the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Committee. The four-year appointment extends through the 2018-19 academic year. As part of the committee, Young makes monthly conference calls, selects teams for regionals and evaluates potential rules changes, in addition to other tasks. Later this spring, she will travel to regionals and the NCAA Championship, representing the NCAA.
"I'm honored that I get to play a role in the progression of women's golf," Young said. "I'm most excited to learn how everything works. It will be neat to be part of the selection process, and to learn more about the most-efficient way of scheduling."
RETURNING RAMS
CSU brought back one of its most-experienced lineups in 2015-16, returning five of its six competitors from last season. Then-freshman Allie Andersen and sophomore Elisabeth Rau competed in all 10 tournaments for the Rams a year ago, with Andersen holding a team-best stroke average of 74.8. She had two top-10 finishes, while Rau had one. Freshman Sarah Archuleta had a team-best round of 69 at the Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational. Junior Riley Leming competed in five tournaments for CSU, while Mikayla Tatman participated in seven.
In addition to the five returners, the Rams signed a pair of prep golfers -- Antonia Frisia (Turin, Italy) and Katrina Prendergast (Sparks, Nev.), and added Hawai'i transfer Brianna Becker. Prendergast and Becker have played prominent roles for the Rams all season, including Prendergast's school-record-tying 69 at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
Five of CSU's six golfers from 2014-15 earned Mountain West Academic All-Conference honors for holding a cumulative grade-point average above 3.0, with four of them on the Rams' 2016 roster. Additionally, Mikayla Tatman was named an All-American Scholar by the Women's Golf Coaches Association. The national honor is Tatman's second (also in 2013), and dating back to 2004, at least one Rams golfer has been a recipient. In the classroom, Tatman is pursuing a degree in human development and family studies and holds a 3.64 GPA.
LABARBERA JOINS YOUNG'S STAFF
Former Rams standout Jessa LaBarbera wrapped up her playing career last spring, but she didn't have to wait long -- or go far -- for her next golf opportunity. CSU Head Coach Annie Young announced the addition of LaBarbera in July, joining Young's staff as assistant coach. LaBarbera, a native of Allen, Texas, began her collegiate career at CSU in 2011. In total, she competed in 32 tournaments, including 21 of 22 over her final two seasons. In 2014-15, she tied a career best with a score of 72 in the Silverado Showdown, and at the Gold Rush Invitational, finished a career-best 16th place (228).
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS
- Finished sixth at the 2014-15 Mountain West Championships, a 13-stroke improvement from the prior year.
- Freshman Allie Andersen had the Rams' top individual performance at the MW Championships (222), finishing in a tie for eighth place, the Rams' highest since 2012.
- Andersen and sophomore Elisabeth Rau earned Mountain West Golfer of the Week honors, CSU's first multiple-recipient season since joining the MW in 1999-2000.
NEXT ON THE TEE
CSU will look ahead to the 2016 Mountain West Championships in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The three-day competition will take place April 18-20. A year ago, the Rams finished sixth out of nine teams, a 13-stroke improvement from the previous season. CSU had two top-11 individual finishers.
