The University’s women’s golf team recently completed a successful season, finishing No. 3 in the country. It was the Tide’s best year in school history, eclipsing its No. 9 finish in 1987.
The team finished the NCAA Championship with a 5-over-par 1,157, which was 50 strokes better than the previous best showing for Alabama at this event.
Head coach Mic Potter described this season, his fifth at the Capstone, as surprising.
“I thought we had a good group of players, and by the end of the season, they began to complement each other,” he said.
Potter said he believes his team was successful because they know their goals as well as their potential.
“We have a core group of players who have bought into what the coaches wanted to do,” he said. “The girls work hard, both on the field and in class, and that is important to the success of the team.”
The team also had success at the individual level. Alabama finished with three players in the top 15: freshman Jennifer Kirby tied for 7th, sophomore Brooke Pancake took 12th, and junior Camilla Lennarth tied for 13th.
Kirby’s 7th place finish is the best individual performance in school history, five spots better than the previous best. This is coupled with her overall tournament score of a 4-under-par 284, yet another Alabama record.
Kirby said she wasn’t really nervous about the NCAA Tournament.
“We prepared well, which took away the nerves,” she said. “We had played in big tournaments before which took the edge off mentally. We had also played all the teams before this, so there was nothing new.”
Kirby said rather than focusing on her individual record, she instead focused on its impact on the future of the team.
“It means that the team is getting stronger,” she said. “The freshmen coming in will be better from playing next to the best.”
The team felt something in the air concerning their fortunes in the tournament, Kirby said.
“Even after the first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament, we knew we could win if we had the composure,” she said. “Even with Purdue [the 2010 NCAA Champions], we knew we could beat them if we had the mental toughness. We are good enough, and it will come eventually.”
Kirby is currently attempting to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open.
Regarding the future outlook of the team, Potter said he has confidence in the program for the upcoming years.
“I don’t see any reason for the program not to be as good or better in future years,” he said. “Recruiting continues to go well. Hopefully, we can recruit even better players to replace those who have graduated.”
With the continued coaching, solid play by upperclassmen and the hopeful emergence of incoming freshmen, the Alabama women’s golf program will keep working towards the national championship title.
