Putt • Kay
Hoey played well in the fall season
for LBSU women’s golf. CSULB
Sports Information
LBSU
women’s golf dream team shows promise
By Natalie Venegas
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
On the golf course, all teammates are equally important, said women’s golf
Head Coach Sue Ewart.
“
It’s a total team effort, and they’re all equal — it’s
a toss up who goes to each competition,” said Ewart.
The Long Beach State women’s golf team features six returners — Katy
Barrett, Beth Holtermann, Julie Kim, Kira Murashige, Hayley Wilkinson and Kay
Hoey — and welcomes newcomer Josefine Lindbergh, who was recruited from
Ahus, Sweden. After overcoming the obstacles of clearing Lindbergh to play with
NCAA and LBSU, she has begun to show promise.
“
It’s been a tough haul,” Ewart said.” There were a lot of hurdles
we had to get over — it took six weeks. It’s been doubly tough for
her, but she gets along great with the team. She’s starting to show sparks
of brilliance.”
LBSU, ranked No. 28 in the nation, has competed in three tournaments, including
Price’s New Mexico State University Invitational Oct. 17-18 where the women
were eight shots behind first-place Missouri, claiming fifth place. Hoey captured
a fourth finish overall after shooting a one-over-par 217 at the invitational,
which played host to 18 of 21 nationally-ranked teams. The 49ers finished up
their fall play with the Kent Youel Invitational in Hawaii by finishing in third
place.
In the team’s season debut, LBSU took a fourth-place finish at the Ptarmigan/Ram
Fall Classic in Ft. Collins, Co. At the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational the team
battled 14 teams, 11 of which were nationally ranked. LBSU claimed seventh place,
finishing ahead of No. 27 Berkeley, No. 6 Washington, No. 24 Oregon, No. 25 BYU,
No. 48 Washington State and No. 36 Oregon State. Murashige was the top shooter
for the 49ers with a 19th place finish.
“
I think it comes down to chemistry,” Wilkinson said. “There’s
a genuine camaraderie where everyone wants everyone to do well. The work ethic
and motivation is extremely high. It’s a dream to be on a team like this.
Last season, [Hoey] was in a league of her own. We all knew we were capable,
and we all stepped up.”
Hoey, who was named Freshman of the Year, Big West Golfer of the Year and second-team
All-America by the National Golf Coaches Association last season became the first
LBSU woman to compete in a NCAA Championship where she tied for 27th. She won
the Oregon Duck Invitational and Fresno State Invitational and was fifth in the
Big West Championships, where LBSU took second place.
The 49ers are led by Ewart, who was the 2005 Big West Championship Co-Coach of
the Year and played at LBSU and on the LPGA tour. Since 2004, Ewart has been
a member of the SCGA Rules Committee.
“
We’re all excited about where we stand right now,” said Ewart.” I
was cautiously optimistic, but this summer they all really worked on their game.
But the bottom line is we need to solidify it. We want all five players playing
on all five cylinders. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
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