Photo by: University of Denver Media Relations
Looking at the “things-to-do” list for the women’s golf team a few years ago you would notice many empty boxes waiting to be checked off. To say the least those boxes are quickly being checked off these days as the Pioneers have won three of their first four tournaments’ this fall and are currently ranked No. 5 in the nation by Golfweek.com. Another check off the list was last season’s trip to the NCAA championships, a first in program history and the big one at the bottom of the list, winning a championship could not be far away.
“We have a lot of talent on this team and it makes for a really competitive team, which is always a good thing. I think this team can go all the way and it’s always an expectation to at least make it to the NCAA tourney in Albuquerque,” said junior Katie Kempter.
Kempter herself is quickly checking things off her list. She won her first career collegiate tournament at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown on Oct. 31 and is currently ranked as the No. 27 collegiate women’s golfer in the nation.
Kempter shot an opening round five-under par 67 and followed it up with a second-round 69 and final-round 72 to win the tournament by three strokes over Alison Walshe from Arizona with a three-round score of 208.
Not only was the tournament win the third of the season for the Pioneers but it was also an impressive 11-stroke victory over second place and ranked Arizona as well as other top-ranked opponents like Tennessee, Oklahoma State and New Mexico.
“This was probably the biggest win in terms of the growth of our program. We had a huge opportunity in getting invited to this tournament this year and for us to go out there and win, was really good for this program,” said Kempter.
This was a win that has gained the Pioneers respect with some of the top teams in the country.
Denver has done it all with golfers that were not highly recognized as juniors, giving high recognition to the great recruiting of head coach Sammie Chergo and assistant Lindsay Hulwick.
One of the key’s has been not limiting the recruiting to the states as they brought in Great Britain native Ellie Givens this season, Canadian native Stephanie Sherlock last season and junior and Sweden native Sara Djos.
The Pioneer’s began this season with a victory at the prestigious Topy Cup Tournament in Japan. Kempter finished as the low-scorer with a three-round score of 214 and junior Dawn Shockley finished in third-place with a score of 220.
The next victory came at their lone home tournament of the season, the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate. Denver not only beat out the 18-team field but also the harsh winds and rain that pounded the course. The Pioneers finished nine strokes ahead of second-place Baylor and the individual crown was captured by Sherlock, her fourth career tournament crown.
The next tournament was the Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championship at Knoxville, Tenn. which has turned out to be their only non-victory of the season.
The Pioneers scored an openinground of 293, a second-round of 292 and were put out of the race with a final-round 300 to put them in a seventh place finish.
The Pioneers have not only shown that they can win tournaments, but that they can win them on a consistent basis. DU has now won seven fall tournaments in the past two seasons.
The Pioneers now go into a three-month break before their next tournament in February and look to improve on their spring season play which has been inconsistent in the past.
That big box at the bottom of the to-do list is no easy task, but is also not far away from being brought to the campus of DU.
