WGolf Completes Historic Fall
10/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Last weekend concluded the 2012 fall season for the Seton Hall women's golf program, a season that brought unprecedented success its way and has its followers energized for what could be a thrilling upcoming spring season.
The program, which began in the fall of 2010, has seen an influx of talent and improved veterans, resulting in only top-5 finishes in five tournaments this fall.
The Pirates opened the season with a second place tie among a field of 15 teams at the Bucknell Invitational. Playing on the same course for the last three years, the Pirates found a rare familiarity and took advantage. Their second round 298 is the lowest team single-round score in program history. Seton Hall finished just one stroke behind Boston University and tied with BIG EAST foe Rutgers. Freshman Megan Tenhundfeld (Loveland, Ohio), playing in her first career collegiate event, led the Pirates at 20-over par and placed eighth among 84 golfers.
Seton Hall kept the positive momentum going the following week at the St. John's Intercollegiate. The inaugural event for the Red Storm, Seton Hall made an immediate mark on the new tournament. For the second straight event, the Pirates placed second by one stroke, this time to host, St. John's. The exciting news of the tournament however, was the historic play of Ali Kruse (Overland Park, Kan.). The sophomore became the second Pirate in history to win an individual title with a one stroke victory over a pair of competitors. Due to the close geographic location of the tournament, Seton Hall's entire roster competed in the event. In all, five Pirates logged top-10 finishes, highlighted by Kruse's victory.
"I think we're only scratching the surface with Ali," said Head Coach Sara Doell. "She has the ability to be a very good golfer in this conference for a long time. It is great for Ali to get an individual win under her belt and it's great for the program to see this kind of continued success."
The tournament with the most difficult field on the fall schedule was undoubtedly the Yale Women's Invitational. The Pirates had struggled on the difficult course each of the last two season, finishing 13th of 14 teams in their inaugural year and eighth of 16 last fall. This time, Seton Hall finished tied for fourth among 16 teams. The Pirates entered the final round in eighth place, but were able to pass Boston College, Longwood and Princeton to tie host Yale for fourth place. Their third-round 300 was the Pirates' second-best single-round team score in program history and was Seton Hall's best single-round team score on a par-72 course. Again, it was super-sophomore Ali Kruse who led the team and notched her third top-10 finish in three tournaments. Kruse finished eighth among 89 individual golfers, leading the Pirates with a 1-over-par, 73, in the final round. Her second-round 70, set the program record for lowest single-round score.
"Of all of our success this fall, I take the most from our performance at Yale," Doell said. "That was, by far, the most talented field we faced, and it was played on a very challenging course. For us to tie the host for fourth place amongst a field that strong really spoke to how far we've come in three years."
After three tournaments of playing their best golf, the Pirates finally broke through at the Rutgers Women's Invitational. Seton Hall claimed its second team championship in program history by seven strokes over the 21-team field. The Pirates' 11-over-par, 299, in round one set the program record for a par-72 course. Host Rutgers finished seven strokes behind in second place, while St. John's was a distant 17 strokes behind the Pirates. Not to be lost in the Pirates' team victory was the tremendous two-day performance of a trio of Seton Hall golfers. Christina Cantú (Houston, Texas), Ali Kruse and Megan Tenhundfeld all tied for second place among 118 golfers at 6-over-par.
"Our play heading into this tournament proved we were capable of this," Doell said. "We just needed to put it all together, focus and play our best game. When we do that, we can be a pretty formidable team."
Not to go unnoticed nationally, the Pirates excellent play has resulted in their lowest golfstat ranking in history. As of Oct. 24, Seton Hall has broken the two-digit barrier and ranks 93rd in the nation, major feat for a program located in the northeast.
Riding high, Seton Hall took the course at the Lehigh University Invitational to finish a historic fall. For the third time this season, the Pirates placed second by just one stroke. This time, The Hall was bested by Princeton, but did finish ahead of three BIG EAST participants, Rutgers, St. John's and Georgetown. Junior Hannah Basalone (Brea, Calif.), who had played well all fall, but had not met her own lofty expectations, finally broke through. With her lacerated hand mended and free of illness, Basalone fired a 1-under-par, 71, in Sunday's final round. Her fifth place finish is the program-best fifth, top-5, of her career. Proving her liking of the course, Basalone became the first individual champion in program history when she won the Lehigh Invitational last year.
"Hannah has battled through a lot this fall, so it's wonderful to see her come through like this in the final round of the fall season," Doell said. "She will undoubtedly be an integral part of our future success, just as she has been in our successes of the past."
The numbers don't lie. Seton Hall continues to improve. Since the program's inception, the Pirates have played five seasons. Their best season scoring average in their first year was a 338.30 in the spring. Last fall, Seton Hall improved mightily, and fired a 310.85, with a spring average not significantly higher. This fall, the Pirates have shaved more than five strokes off their prior best season, averaging exactly 305.00 strokes per round.
In each tournament, Seton Hall seemingly has a player with a chance to win the individual title. In fact, the Pirates are recording top-10 finishes at record numbers. During Seton Hall's inaugural year, individual Pirate golfers recorded only two, top-10 finishes, both by Hannah Basalone. Last year, that number jumped to 11, top-10 finishes. In only five tournaments this year, Seton Hall golfers have already earned 14, top-10 finishes, placing 11th and additional three times. Leading the way, were Kruse and Cantú, who tallied five and four, top-10 finishes, respectively.
Seton Hall will launch into an off-season workout regimen focusing on improving physical and mental strength as well as flexibility. Rest will also be a key aspect in spring preparation.
"The team set four performance goals entering the fall," Doell said. "They wanted to break 300 strokes in a single round, break their single-round stroke record, average better than they did last fall and win a tournament. We achieved all four goals in five tournaments."
Such success has the Pirates hungry for more and looking forward to the spring.
"When I set the spring schedule, I tried to incorporate some tournaments we could win and others with strong fields that we could grow from," Doell said. "Given our performance this fall, I now think we have a shot to win them all."
