May 12, 2009

By Amy Farnum Novin
NCAA.com

The Nova Southeastern women’s golf team has been working towards one goal – a national title – for the last three years, and the top-ranked Sharks are more than ready to contend for the Division II trophy at the Findlay Country Club in Findlay, Ohio beginning May 13.

The Sharks finished as runner-up in last year’s tournament behind Sunshine State Conference foe Rollins College, and the same talented group is back this season to challenge for the title.  NSU is led by junior Maria Garcia Austt, who garnered national player and freshman of the year honors in 2007, and gave the program the boost it needed to become one of the best teams in Division II.

“It really all started with Maria,” said head coach Kevin Marsh.  “She was definitely the most important person to get here, and we kind of built the program from there.  She was national player and freshman of the year in 2007, and it made recruiting a lot easier the next year.  We brought in four freshmen after Maria’s first year, and one of them -- Sandra Changkija -- moved on to be national player and freshman of the year last season.   It’s the team that we brought to nationals last year, and the team that we’ll bring this year.”

The Sharks will bring some momentum into nationals after a three-stroke victory at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Super Regional Two at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howie-in-the-Hills, Fla., last weekend.   Changkija, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla., won medalist honors by four strokes as the Sharks outdistanced fellow SSC member Florida Southern. 

Garcia Austt knows capturing the top spot will not be easy, but that the goal is attainable.

“We finished runner-up seven strokes behind Rollins, and of course the one thing we wanted to do is beat them and win nationals,” said Garcia Austt.  “I think we have a lot of confidence to do it because we’ve been winning a lot of tournaments this year.  Whenever you lose, you usually learn something and we’ve learned that we have to work harder to
get the win.”

A year ago, four of the five players on the squad were freshmen, and Marsh says the group has matured and grown over the past year.

“The reason we lost nationals last year was experience,” said Marsh.  “Rollins had a lot more experience – they had some juniors and seniors that had been in that situation.  With such a young team, it’s something we need to learn from and if we’re in that situation this year at nationals, we’ll be able to draw on last year’s experience.”

The Sharks have won six tournaments this season, including the Super Regional, but know even if they jump out in front in the first round or two, they cannot lose focus on the ultimate prize.

“We don’t have lay up just because we have a big lead – I think that’s what happens to all of us,” said Garcia Austt.  “We don’t play an aggressive game when we have a big lead.  I guess that’s what we have to do.  If we have a big lead, we have to make it bigger.”

The toughest opponents the Sharks will face will most likely be golfers that they see practically every weekend during the season – SSC foes Rollins and Florida Southern. 

“When we first worked towards this goal a couple years ago, the first step was to be able to consistently beat Florida Southern and Rollins,” said Marsh.  “We hadn’t done that up until two years ago.”

“That’s why we have good competition all year – because the best teams in the nation are in our conference,” said Garcia Austt.  “The conference tournament is kind of a practice for nationals.”

Tournament play runs May 13-16.  Rollins College, defending NCAA champion, and Florida Southern have combined for the last nine national titles.