WICHITA, Kan. – The Shocker women's golf team will look to continue their early season success this coming week when they travel to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where they will compete in the Coeur d'Alene Intercollegiate, hosted by Gonzaga University at Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort from September 24
th to September 26
th.
The Shockers are coming off a top-5 team finish in their season-opening tournament at the Payne Stewart Memorial played at Rivercut Golf Course.
Kate Tilma,
Anna Takahashi, and
Mackenzie Wilson all recorded top-20 individual finishes. The Shockers performance set the team record for a 54-hole score on a par 72 course with a score of 881 (+17).
Head Women's Golf Coach
Tom McCurdy is excited to see what his group can do this week at this world-famous golf course.
"I think this golf course sets up really well for us, being the type of ball-strikers that we are," McCurdy said. "Coeur d'Alene is a thinker's golf course and a shot maker's golf course. You have to be able to work the ball on some tee shots and definitely going to need some great approach shots. You also need to be very good at putting in order to be successful at this course."
Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort is a 6,085
-yard, par 71 golf course, with the longest hole being hole 9 which spans 563 yards and is a par 5.
Coach McCurdy saw plenty of encouraging results last weekend in the team's qualifying rounds for this tournament.
"Qualifying went really well," McCurdy said. "Scores were low across the board in our qualifiers at Willowbend and Crestview North last weekend and I like our lineup a lot this week."
Mackenzie Wilson was the top qualifier on the week for the Shockers, shooting two-under on Friday and one-under on Saturday.
Sarah Lawson was second, finishing even par Friday and one-over Saturday.
Hillary Currier was seven-over in round one, but rebounded in round two, finishing one-under, booking her ticket to Idaho as the fifth and final Shocker.
Kate Tilma and
Anna Takahashi automatically qualified for this tournament since they each finished in the top 20% of the tournament field at the team's season-opening tournament in Springfield, Missouri.
No additional Shockers will make the trip as individuals.
Fast Facts – Coeur d'Alene Intercollegiate
Dates: Sunday-Tuesday, Sep. 24-26, 2023
Host: Gonzaga University
Location: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort)
Yardage: 6,085 Yards
Par: 71
Format: 54 Holes (18 holes per day)
Live Scoring: Spikemark
The Field: 16 teams
California State – Bakersfield, California Baptist, California – Davis, Grand Canyon, Louisiana – Monroe (ULM), North Dakota State (NDSU), California – Riverside, San Francisco, Seattle, South Dakota,
Wichita State
Shocker Five:
Kate Tilma (So.) -- Transfer from Kansas State…Wichita native…Competing in second event of season…Finished tied for fifth at season-opening tournament earlier this month.
Anna Takahashi (Gr.) -- Graduate transfer from Sam Houston State…Competing in second event of season…Finished tied for 13
th in first tournament of season.
Mackenzie Wilson (So.) -- Playing in 12
th tournament as a Shocker and second of the season…Finished tied for 20
th at Payne Stewart Memorial…
Sarah Lawson (Gr.) – Graduate student competing in 18
th tournament as a Shocker…Making first appearance in the lineup this season.
Hillary Currier (Fr.) -- True freshman…Competing in second tournament.
Coach McCurdy this week on…
…The tournament field:
"The field of the tournament is a much different field than we will see at any tournament the rest of the year. It's primarily a west-coast team tournament, but the reason we are going out here this year is to help with our strength of schedule. Going out into a different region and performing well will help our rankings a lot."
…Kate Tilma:
"Kate has the ability to turn some par 5s in par 4s because of how long she can hit the ball. She also can carry some of the fairway bunkers that 90% of the tournament field is not going to be able to do. She's going to have a great advantage this week in that area and she's a great putter as well."
…Anna Takahashi:
"Anna should play really well at this golf course. She's a tight ball-striker off the tee. In order to be successful at Coeur d'Alene, you have to be able to keep the ball in play and have good control with your driver and irons, which Anna does and she's an exceptional putter as well."
…Mackenzie Wilson:
"I really like Mackenzie at this tournament since she's such a great driver. She can work the ball both ways, has very good distance control with her irons, and she has a great competitive fire. At this golf course, the scores could get low, and I think she has the capability and potential to have a big breakthrough sometime soon."
…Sarah Lawson:
"Sarah has worked really, really hard and she's improving very fast. She is getting really close to peaking. She's swinging the club well and putting well compared to where she was at a year ago. I think this is a good golf course for her to be able to go out and put some good numbers up."
…Hillary Currier:
"Hillary is doing very well in terms of being an open book and coachable as a true freshman. She's got a solid foundation. She always keeps the ball in play and is a good putter and that's going to give her great opportunities to score."
This trip to Coeur d'Alene will be the longest trip the Shockers take this season, traveling a total of 1,568 miles to make it to the Gem State.
