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GFU's fall golf season ready to start |
A new season is nearing
for the George Fox University women’s golf team and the coach of the
school’s newest athletic program, MaryJo McCloskey, can easily
remember her team’s accomplishments during its first season.
The Bruins finished seventh out of nine teams in the Northwest
Conference in 2006. It had one player finish in the top-10 (ninth)
in the Conference Championship.
“I was excited for our first year and all that we did,” McCloskey
said. “We had just four players, so there were times when it was
really difficult because we were occasionally short of being able to
complete a team score due to an illness or some overlapping of
basketball season with golf.”
McCloskey said prior to the golf season, she didn’t expect the
school’s basketball team would play in the NCAA national tournament
in March, especially after the Bruins were predicted to finish fifth
in the preseason coaches poll.
“That was before I met Robin Taylor ...,” McCloskey said of the
all-conference starting guard for the school’s basketball team.
“(Taylor) came to me as a senior and wanted to get into the game of
golf. She really didn’t have the experience to compete, but I saw
her dedication and her willingness to learn, as well as her amazing
leadership skills, and I realized that she would be a great addition
to this first team at George Fox.
“What I didn’t realize was just how inspirational she would be for
the girls in the end. She had several tough rounds, but she never
gave up.”
In Taylor’s final tournament of the season, the Conference
Championship, she gradually climbed the leaderboard so much that
players and parents from other schools were cheering for her.
“It was so great to see a well-deserved finish for (Taylor), and
the team definitely learned from her ‘never give up’ attitude,”
McCloskey said.
First-year student Whitney Clunes completed her rookie season by
finishing in the top ten in the conference and capturing medalist
honors in a dual tournament against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
in in March. Sophomore Christine Collier and junior Nicole Hudson,
another member of the Bruins’ basketball team, had a few solid
one-day performances but were inconsistent in the two-day events.
“(Collier and Hudson) had been away from competitive golf for
awhile when they came to George Fox,” McCloskey said. “Now they are
working on improving their consistency with short game drills and
course management work. They are also looking forward to taking on
leadership roles in the future.”
In talking about her first season, McCloskey beamed as she
declared, “I couldn’t have asked for a better first year and team.
We received $12,000 from the Brian Henninger Foundation and we had a
ton of community and campus support. We were just this small team of
four players, yet every one cared; even our president checked in to
see how we were doing. It was truly amazing!”
Now, McCloskey’s goal is to build on last season.
“The inaugural year was great but we are now ready and excited to
move into our second season,” she said. “With three out of four
players returning, our goal is to continue the momentum and build
upon the foundation we started.”
The first fall event for the team will be Sunday in the Pacific
5-Way Tournament at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks. |
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From
Sept. 19, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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