After leading the field in all three rounds, the No. 29/35 Pioneer women’s golf team clinched its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title and its 10th consecutive conference title last Wednesday, finishing 12 strokes ahead of defending conference champions San Jose State at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.
In addition to the overall victory, Pioneer junior Tonje Daffinrud also claimed the individual title, finishing with a seven-under 209 and earning WAC Player of the Year for her performance.
“It was an amazing tournament,” said Daffinrud. “It was our first year with these teams, and we went in and fought really hard. It was really fun to come home with a trophy, and, individually, it was fun for me to get the win and get good results. The weather was perfect and it was a fun course to play.”
Five Pioneers represented DU at the three-day tournament, including Daffinrud, senior Kelly Drack, freshman Elyse Smidinger, redshirt senior Melissa Martin and sophomore Rachael Watton. The team combined for an 18-over 882, 12 strokes ahead of San Jose State’s 894 and 22 ahead of third-place Texas State, No. 38 in the nation.
“I’m very proud of our team,” said head coach Lindsay Hulwick. “It was a very competitive field, with four teams ranked from 29 to 55 in the nation. Every player really stepped up and played their best. Everyone contributed, and we continue to get better at each tournament.”
The 2013 season is the Pioneers’ first in the WAC, after winning nine straight Sun Belt Conference titles from 2004 to 2012. According to Hulwick, the team faced a variety of new challenges at last week’s tournament.
“It’s something special to win 10 conference championships in a row,” said Hulwick. “We faced a new conference with a different course we’ve never seen. It’s a challenge to play a new course, to get used to the green. We hadn’t seen a lot of the teams, but we stayed focused and played our own game.”
In addition to the new conference and location, the team also boasted a new coach in Hulwick, who took over the program just over two months ago, after spending eight months as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. Prior to that, Hulwick spent seven years on the Pioneer staff, serving as the associate head coach for three seasons.
“Coming back to Denver, it felt like we didn’t skip a beat, and it didn’t feel like anything had changed,” Hulwick said. “I still had a strong connection with the players, and we picked up right where we left off last spring.”
At the close of the conference tournament, Hulwick was honored as the WAC Coach of the Year, selected by her fellow coaches. Daffinrud was named All-WAC first team, while Smidinger and Watton received second-team honors.
“Every member of the team has really bought into our culture and our past success, working hard at practice and in the weight room,” said Hulwick. “The competition within the team and the great tournaments we compete in really help them improve, and I can say we’ve gotten better at every tournament. Their hard work and determination really contribute to three members being named all-conference.”
Drack and Smidinger tied for sixth with matching scores of seven-over at 223, while Martin and Watton finished 15th and 18th, respectively.
The Pioneers will return to action May 9, when they compete in the three-day NCAA regionals at the West Regional at the Stanford Golf Course.
“We’re ready to go,” said Hulwick. “We’re excited to see what this team can do in the postseason. If we have 10 days of good practice, then I really think we have a good chance of being one of 24 teams to compete at nationals.”
