Upstate To Hit Links At Rutgers Invitational
10/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Oct. 8, 2009
Spartanburg, S.C. - The USC Upstate women's golf team returns to the course Friday and Saturday at the Rutgers Invitational in Piscataway, N.J., after taking more than a week off from competition following the Giustina Memorial Classic on Sept. 28-29. The Spartans are making their second appearance in the tournament after finishing tied for fifth out of 18 teams in 2007, Upstate's first year playing on the NCAA Division I level.
Upstate will be one of 18 teams in the field which includes Albany, Boston College, Boston University, Fairleigh Dickinson, Hampton, Hartford, Hofstra, Kutztown, Lehigh, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Rutgers, Sacred Heart, St. John's, Siena, Upstate and Wagner. The 36-hole tournament will begin with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start on both days. The Spartans will send Natalie Buch, Marissa Clontz, Jennifer Judge, Cheryl Lo and Summer Wall on the course.
Recapping The Giustina Memorial Classic
Jennifer Judge again led the way for Upstate and finished tied for 37th at the Giustina Memorial Classic hosted by Oregon State Sept. 28-29. The Spartans turned in a solid round in the first round and was within striking distance of moving up the leaderboard. However, Upstate turned in back-to-back tough rounds and finished 10th in the field. Judge shot scores of 82, 81 and 82 to finish tied for 37th, while Cheryl Lo and Natalie Buch tied for 42nd as the second-lowest Spartans in the tournament. Johanna Ebenhag and Summer Wall rounded out the Spartan five in the tournament.
The Last Time At Rutgers
USC Upstate traveled to Piscataway, N.J., in 2007 to play in the 18-team Rutgers Invitational and left with a strong top five finish after tying for fifth place with a 666 total. The Spartans finished behind Bethune-Cookman, Yale, St. John's and Siena, and tied Bucknell and Rutgers. Individually, Richelle Wedzik led the way with a ninth-place finish as the low Spartan in the tournament.
Judge The Leader Of The Pack
Jennifer Judge, a junior from Hurley, Miss., has shown the way for Upstate in the first two tournaments of the year. With the Spartans fielding a young and inexperienced team, Judge is the go-to player on the course. She has finished as the low Spartan in both tournaments this season, finishing tied for 25th out of 120 golfers at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate and tied for 37th at the Giustina Memorial Classic in a strong field of Pac-10, Mountain West and Western Athletic conference schools. She currently tops the team with a 79.8 stroke average, leading her next closest teammate, Cheryl Lo, by 1.5 strokes per round. She has also turned in the program's low round of the year with a 74 in the Great Smokies Intercollegiate.
Clontz To Make Collegiate Debut
Freshman Marissa Clontz is set to make her collegiate debut at the Rutgers Invitational. From Greenville, S.C., she was a standout at Wade Hampton High School for coach Vicki Wilson. She led the team in stroke average and set the school's single-round school record with a 37. She was a two-time all-region selection. Upstate head coach Todd Lawton turns to her for her first career start to help inject the Spartans with needed energy with the hope of lowering the team scores.
Gaining Tournament Experience
After losing five seniors from last year's team, Upstate head coach Todd Lawton knew that the Spartans were going to be young and inexperienced in 2009-10. While that is true and has shown by inconsistent scoring to start the season, there have been some bright spots as the team has worked to gel into a cohesive unit. The Spartans have put themselves in position to score lower numbers, but have not been able to do so collectively as a team. As the year progresses, the expectation is to see improvement up and down the lineup.
Buch Continues Her Development
Sophomore Natalie Buch did not see playing time in tournaments last season as she made the transition to Division I golf. While she and head coach Todd Lawton would like to see her scores drop as she gains experience, Lawton, for one, is happy with her progress. After opening with an 87 in the first and only round of the Great Smokies Intercollegiate, she turned in a career-low round of 81 in the first round of the Giustina Memorial Classic and carded back-to-back 83's in the second and third rounds to help pace the Spartans. A consistent player, she continues to work to improve her game.
Halkett A Steadying Hand
The women's golf program and head coach Todd Lawton have received a boost in the last year with the addition of assistant women's golf coach Sandy Halkett making the rounds on the course. Halkett is an LPGA teaching professional at Eagle Zone Golf Center in Greenville. Her presence on the team has helped the Spartans with course management and technique while giving Lawton a much-needed extra person to help run the program.
