Monday, October 25, 2010

A Season Finale Worth Remembering

The Fall season came to a close for our team at the 2010 MAC Preview last week. It was another great tournament for us and it was especially memorable for junior Hanna Ek who won her first ever collegiate individual title!

I have so many thoughts on this tournament on a professional and personal level...

First of all, it was great for us to go down to Longaberger and do a "dry run" of the MAC W. Golf Championship that we will host in April 2011. I didn't think the MAC Preview went very smoothly as it could have. The first round, the tees were not set to the ones that we played during the practice round. There were significant differences on certain holes, but for the most part it made the course set up shorter and a little easier. I was certainly embarrassed throughout the day and angry at myself for not making sure this was taken care of from the start! The next day the tees were put back in the correct positions, but I do think this mistake will be a helpful thing in the long run. I did a hole-by-hole comparison over the different yardages and found some interesting statistics and it will lead to changes that will make the Championship more enjoyable, yet still competitive when April rolls around.

The team and I all laughed at the tee mistake. They had a great attitude about it honestly. The quote I kept hearing from them was, "Well...everyone had to play the same golf course!". I think their positivity was great for me as well as their golf games! It really showed in our score during the first round. We came out with a great round on a tough course and put ourselves in position to win the event! Hanna Ek came out of the gate quick with the only under par round shot in the whole tournament!

She played simple golf...hitting fairways, greens, draining putts and of course, starting the day birdie, birdie, birdie always helps! In the end, it gave her a 3 shot lead over some of the best players in our conference! I know she was super nervous the second day. She had the opposite start the 2nd round...bogeying her first three holes. And despite that tough start she finished strong and came away with the win! Hanna is one of those people that has her own way of doing things. She works very hard on certain aspects of her game and she also works hard with her academics. The girl can win a college event AND have a 3.9 GPA in Mechanical Engineering...quite an accomplishment I must say!

Kristen Hill also played very consistent both days shooting two 76s. She gave her own teammate a run for the title, but no one was happier for Hanna than Kristen herself! It was a proud moment for me to see Kristen and the rest of the team congratulating Hanna :).

So, with the stellar play of Hanna and Kristen, the team finished 2nd. We made a run at Western Michigan who has had a tremendous Fall season. We beat three teams that were ranked better than us going into the event...that helps our head-to-head ranking and our confidence for Spring. Ending on a positive note will be helpful for us heading into the off-season.

Friday, October 22, 2010

A Victory that Made History!

We knew going into the Zippy Invite that we would be the favorite to win it all. Sometimes that brings more pressure with it than you think!

Our home course, Rosemont C. C. is so challenging. We play and practice there everyday. Our qualifying scores at Rosemont the past three years have been on the average about 4 strokes higher than our tournament scores in the various events that we have played in. So, we know how much tougher our home course is and we know how much focus it takes to play well there.

I thought we came out of the gate well during the first and second rounds. Our consistent play gave us a big lead going into the final round. I was proud of how well we played the tough holes during the 36 hole day and that is definitely what set us apart from the rest of the field. We were so happy with the big lead, but we all knew in the back of our minds that anything could happen at Rosemont C. C.! It was important to go into the final round thinking about only playing the golf course and not the people in the group. Sometimes getting into the match play mentality hurts more than it helps. We didn't finish well down the stretch, but it was still enough to win. I've always said it doesn't matter if you win by 1 or 100...a win is a win!

I'm especially happy for the team. They deserved the chance to WIN! We came in second so many times and although those were big accomplishments for our program at the time, the team's new mantra became "Second Sucks!". They work very hard on and off the golf course. Being the new kids on the block in the MAC has made them work hard to earn the respect of other teams that have established programs and it has also given them motivation that they have something to prove to the other MAC teams. I know they have to be so excited to see their hard work pay off!!

The steady overall individual play of Kristen Hill (individual runner-up) and Amanda Butler (t-9, her best collegiate finish), helped lead the team to victory! Katie Jenior, Sara Chaves, and Hanna Ek were also on the winning squad and contributed in a great way...it was truly a team effort!!

I'm glad we notched our first every program victory at our home event. It is great defending our home turf and keeping the Zippy Invite in AKRON!!!

GO ZIPS!!!

Friday, October 8, 2010

3rd Annual Zippy Invite

The 3rd Annual Zippy Invite is right around the corner! Come out and support your Akron Women's Golf team!!


Where:

Rosemont Country Club, Fairlawn, OH
http://www.rosemontcountryclub.com/

When:

Monday, October 11th: 9:30am Shotgun Start (36 holes)
Tuesday, October 12th: 9:30am Shotgun Start (18 holes)

Teams:

AKRON, Cleveland State, Ohio, Bowling Green, Detroit-Mercy, Oakland, Marshall,
Eastern Kentucky, Grand Valley (defending champions), California University of PA, Allegheny College, and Bucknell



The golf course is in phenomenal shape right now and we are looking forward to using our home course knowledge to our advantage. All week we have been working very hard on our short games and all shots from 100 yards and in. Excellent course management will be key to victory and with the experience that we have in our line-up we will have a head start on the field.

We are still looking for our first victory in program history and we are very excited about our chances to achieve this accomplishment at home!

GO ZIPS!!!

Monday, June 21, 2010

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

Please mark your calendars for the first ever "Tee Off with the Zips" event Monday, August 30th at Rosemont C. C. This is an Akron Women's Golf fundraiser outing.

You and your foursome will get the chance to play with a member of the Akron Women's Golf team or one of the coaches!

The format will be a 5 person scramble and the entry fee ($150 per individual/$550 per foursome) will cover lunch, golf, dinner, and participation gifts! Other contests include: Men's and Women's Closest to the Pin, Men's and Women's Long Drive, and a Skins game.



Tee Off with the Zips Schedule of Events

12pm-1:15pm--Registration and Lunch

1:30pm--Shotgun Start

6:30pm--Dinner/Awards/Raffle



For questions concerning the event or if you would like to enter a foursome or enter as an individual, please contact myself at jking@uakron.edu!




GO ZIPS!!!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Accomplishments Off the Course...

Now that summer is in full swing, it has been a great opportunity for me to reflect on this past year. Sure, we've had our successes on the golf course, but we've also had some great accomplishments off the course as well.

The team really outdid themselves in the classroom this past Spring semester. Our team GPA for the Spring 2010 semester was a 3.74! We set a goal for ourselves in the beginning of Spring to achieve a 3.3 team GPA and we just blew that goal out of the water! I'm obviously very proud of their hard work. We have a great shot at having the highest team GPA for next year's Athletic Awards Banquet...so we'll just have to wait until April 2011 to see if we win that award!

Hanna Ek, who will be a Junior this Fall, was named to the 2010 All-MAC Academic Team. She was the only player on the All-MAC team with a 4.0 GPA! Hanna is a Mechanical Engineering major and is also the number two player on the team. Hanna works herself to the bone in the classroom and as you can see it pays off. I often worry about Hanna because she has many late nights studying and staying on top of her labs, homework, etc. I know that sometimes lack of sleep can lead to a person running low on energy and getting sick, so Hanna is definitely a fighter! Again...I'm very proud of her newest academic accolade. She is very deserving of the honor!

Not only did we have probably the best year in team history (easy accomplishment I guess since it is only our second year!), but we did amazing things in the classroom as well. I'm proud to say that I have a well-balanced team. They work hard in every aspect of their life and they don't like settling for mediocrity. That is honestly the one thing I want them to have on their side when they leave college and enter "the real world": being a well rounded individual. They will get far in life because they will have the work ethic already ingrained.

GO ZIPS!!

Monday, April 26, 2010

2010 MAC Championship--Daily Report

Wednesday April 21:

At 3pm we loaded up the van to head out of town and on our way to Fishers, IN for the 2010 MAC Championships! Loading up the van isn't always an easy task because there are a few people that pack heavy...haha! I was actually one of those this week. When I looked at the forecast it looked like a variety of temps and weather was possible, so I made sure I was prepared. I hate being cold, so I made sure to pack plenty of layers :).

The drive was pretty smooth. We ran into traffic around the Columbus, OH area only because it was rush hour, but we got through it pretty quickly. We finally stopped to eat some dinner as soon as we hit the Indiana border. The girls are actually not too picky when it comes to restaurants, so we found an O' Charleys and had a nice meal!

Once we arrived in Fishers at the hotel, we checked in, unpacked, decided on our uniform for the practice round, figured out the time to meet downstairs for breakfast and went to bed! The hotel was very nice and relaxing!

Thursday April 22:

Our practice round time was set for us at 9:20am. We were the third team to play that morning. So, we met for breakfast around 7:45am and then made sure we made it to the course to have an hour to warm up before playing. The weather for the practice round was beautiful. The sun was out and it was warm and there was no wind at all. Some of the girls had their yardage books from last year and kept mentioning how the wind was completely opposite from when we played there for the MAC Preview. No wind on that course definitely opened the door for low scores. After a 6 hour practice round and plenty of short game work, I had to head to a Head Coaches Meeting for the tournament and the team practiced for about an hour and a half. We had a great day and looked very good. I thought the preparation we did that day was very beneficial.

After we got done at the course, we decided to go ahead and grab some dinner. We were all hungry, but there isn't a time when we aren't hungry!! We head to our favorite place...Applebee's! We could probably eat there everyday as a team if possible, but sometimes it's good to mix it up a little bit. Some of the parents that were already in town joined us, so it was a great time as always! There is never a dull moment with this team...I'm always laughing!!

So, once dinner was over, most of the team called it a night, worked on homework and then went to bed. Before I went to sleep, I met up with some of the other fellow MAC Coaches and talked with them for a little bit. Such a great group of people to be around and funny too!

Friday April 23:

Tournament Time!! We drew the second wave of tee times for the first round of the 2010 MAC Championship and we played with Kent State and Bowling Green. This was the first time our team has seen Kent State all year and actually the first time we have ever played with them. It's amazing that we are only 20 minutes apart and have actually never played with them before. The girls got along with them quite nicely and I saw some future friendships develop :)! We made the turn in great position, but the back 9 (the tougher 9) got us pretty good that day. Although we didn't finish strong, we still posted a decent 310 and wasn't far back from the leaders (only 13 strokes down). We were in 6th place after day 1 and Katie and Kristen played very steady that day shooting 75, 76 respectively. Toward the end of the day it started raining on us a little bit. Once we were done we ate lunch at the clubhouse and went out to practice a little while there was a break in the clouds. That night the girls went out to dinner with their parents...I try to deem one night a tournament a parents night, so they get a chance to spend time with their families. The team seems to love that option :).

Saturday April 24:

We had the second wave of tee times again. This time we were paired with Eastern Michigan and Toledo. The forecast for that day was rain/thunderstorms. I looked at a radar for an hour the night before trying to figure out the direction the rain was coming from, but of course, I couldn't tell anything. We just all assumed that it was going to be one of those rainy golf days that everyone had to play in, so we were mentally preparing ourselves for it. But...the rain never came! There was no wind and even the sun showed itself several times! Ideal playing conditions yet again. Once the 2nd round was all said and done and the scores were added up, we found ourselves still in 6th place as a team shooting another 310! At least we were showing consistency! Kristen's play lead the team that day...she shot a 75 (without any birdies!). Tyler made a strong comeback shooting a 78. We still weren't too far behind the leaders though. With a good final round anything would be possible!

After the round was over, we went to Panera for lunch and then went back to the course for some practice. Once everyone felt good about their games, we headed back to the hotel for a little rest and to clean up before the banquet. The MAC Championship banquet was held at the Hawthorns clubhouse that night and it was a great setting. The food was tremendous! My plate was pretty full I will admit ;). The seniors were honored (I won't be doing that for another two years!) and the MAC Players of the Week for the year were recognized...Kristen received that honor 3 times which was the most by any MAC Women's Golfer this year! There was a really cool MAC Women's Golf video tribute at the end. But overall, it was a very nice evening out!

When we left the banquet, the weather started acting up! The wind was howling and the rain was starting. We had tornado watches until 3am the next morning! I slept through it of course...:).

Sunday April 25:

The skies were ugly when we got up and that didn't change the whole day. I felt bad for Hanna because it was her birthday and she had to spend it on the golf course in the pouring rain and hard wind! I think she had a good birthday though because she loves her teammates and she got to spend the day with them :). But, we knew that it was going to be a tough day. The girls hung tough mentally and really played well under the hard weather conditions. We shot a 309 (YES! Got off the 310 streak!!) and moved into 5th place! We were close to 4th place missing it only by 3 shots. Katie Jenior came to play...she was definitely in the zone. She shot a 1 over par 73! Kristen shot a 77 and birthday girl Hanna Ek shot a 78. Amanda Butler came in with an 81 and we were all so proud of her because she played the whole tournament very sick...at one point lost her voice! She definitely displayed some toughness there!

So once we finished, we loaded up the van and did our best to dry out. The cookout was after play, so we went into the clubhouse and had our lunch. Kent State took home the title...their 12th in a row. Ball State finished 2nd. Kristen finished the tournament t-13th and Katie finished t-11th. Kristen was voted on the 1st Team All-MAC!

Once the awards ceremony was done, we congratulated the winning teams and said thank you to the host school Toledo. We changed into some dry warm clothes and got on our way back to Akron! We arrived at 10pm, which wasn't too bad, and everyone parted ways to their houses :).

It was a great weekend! We had fun and held our own. We all have seen that it is possible to make a run for the MAC Championship we are already looking forward to next year! GO ZIPS!!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Highlights of the 2010 Spring Season...

We have had many great successes this Spring. I am definitely proud of what we have accomplished and hope to keep it rolling as we enter into conference play this week!!

Here are some of the 2010 Spring Season Highlights:

  • In the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate, the largest field in women's college golf, the Zips missed the championship flight cut by 1 stroke. However, the Zips had a strong finish on the last day, led by Kristen Hill's 72, Tyler Etcheberry's 73, and Hanna Ek's 74, to shoot a final round team score of 299 and to win the 1st Flight by 12 shots!

  • Kristen Hill wins the 3rd Annual Claud Jacobs individual title shooting 74, 77, 72. It marked her 2nd Individual Win in her college career and it helped lead the team to a 4th place finish out of 16 teams. Hanna Ek also recorded a top 20 individual finish.

  • MAC Player of the Week honors went to Kristen after her win that week. Making it her 3rd overall honor of her career.

  • At the C & F Bank Intercollegiate, hosted by William and Mary, the Zips recorded another top 5 team finish with a Runner-Up finish out of 20 teams! The Zips were led by the consistent play of Kristen Hill who finished t-4th shooting 77-72. Katie Jenior grabbed a top 10 individual finish with a 78-74 and Tyler Etcheberry finished in the top 20 shooting 78-79.

  • At the Canes and Cardinals Classic in Miami, FL, the strong play of the Zips and Kristen Hill continued. The team finished 3rd overall out of 10 teams only missing the Runner-up spot by one shot! Kristen Hill captured the Canes and Cardinals Individual Title shooting a 1 under tournament score of 215 (73-70-72)! That marks her 3rd individual career win!! Hanna Ek also had a great tournament placing 3rd individually shooting 70-82-73.

  • MAC Player of the Week honors that week again went to Kristen Hill after her win at the Canes and Cardinals Classic. She has received that honor 4 times in her career only as a sophomore.

  • We are currently ranked at 116 in the Golfstat Head-to-Head Standings.

Our confidence is high as it should be. We look to ride this wave of confidence into MAC Championship play later this week. Everyone has been working hard to prepare for the MAC Championship. It has been a season long preparation. No matter what our finish is this weekend, we have to be very proud and excited about the direction that our program is going

More to come this week and hopefully a full MAC Championship report! GO ZIPS!!