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Complete 2015 Fall Schedule
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati women's golf team is set to begin its fall season, Sept. 14-15, at the Memphis Intercollegiate in Memphis, Tennessee. With a little over a week before competition begins, GoBEARCATS.com caught up with head coach Janet Carl and assistant coach Brian Alderson to discuss their team and the 2015 fall season.
GoBEARCATS.com: How have preparations for the upcoming fall season been going?
Janet Carl: Things are going good. We are busy. The kids got in recently so a "preseason" really doesn't occur for us because we are now basically in season. We are working hard at practice. We are getting ready for qualifying for our first event, which is Sept. 14 at the Memphis Intercollegiate, so we are busy with that.
GB: Any encouraging signs that you have seen early on with the team?
JC: I think the encouragement that we have seen is seeing that our returners have been working on things that Brian and I both have given them over the summer to work on. Additionally, I think that the new girls that have come in are already closer to some of the things we have tried to work with them on. Things like the tactics that we look for on golf courses and the different shots that they have in their bags. They are already closer than some of the girls last year were when we started so, as a whole, I think we are moving closer.
Brian Alderson: I'm sure you could imagine without having a preseason, it's pretty intense, really, because we have to get them match ready in a very small window of time. In our sport, there are two particular avenues you can go down. One is between the ears with the mental approach to competition so early in the season. I work with them on that. Second is getting their short game right. Getting the ball in the hole, which is a game within the game, as is putting, so we are getting their short games as sharp as we can. You can hit it great, and they all hit it great, but scoring is all that counts so the theme is around getting them to score and hit the ground running.
GB: With a fairly young team, are you anticipating some growth from the younger players this season?
JC: We are. I would say our entire junior class as a whole is the base of our program, even this year. Obviously, Stefanie Mitchell (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview) has her senior leadership piece that she is working on. I think Ashley Cassidy (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East), Tara Liebert (Mason, Ohio/Mason), Valentina Herrera (Bogota, Colombia), and Sofia Langenius (Hovas, Sweden) all bring different pieces to us, but that's what obviously we are recruiting and basing our recruiting upon, how they are going to perform this year. We are excited with the things we are seeing here as we are qualifying for this first tournament. I think it is a good base. It is a young team, but I think the opportunity to work with Brian on the mental piece and the work we have done from last year to this year is carrying over with all of those players.
GB: You have three freshmen joining the program this season: Anika Hitt (Mequon, Wisc.), Elizabeth Keeling (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut), Emma Wachtel (Rorschwihr, France/Jean Sturm Gymnasium) . What are you expecting from them and how can they contribute to the team this season?
JC: I think that all three freshmen, at some point, will find themselves playing this year. I think it is very tightly-knit in the form of scoring and I think that they will all find themselves with an opportunity to qualify for an event and play for us.
BA: They all have the baseline skill to make the team, which is exciting, because it is not always easy to make it onto the team once the events begin. I, too, believe that these kids will make it onto the team and compete. What we want them to do in practice and qualifying is always be fighting and hustling to get on the team. Not just making the numbers, we want them to fight and make the team. That's what any golf program needs. You've got to be able to beat your competitors and love them in the end.
GB: How do you feel about the makeup of your five-tournament fall schedule in 2015?
JC: We've made some changes which are definitely going to improve our schedule strength. We are playing in the Memphis Intercollegiate which we haven't done in a number of years. With them being another American Athletic Conference team, it is always good to go play that event. We are going to follow that up with the East Carolina Lady Pirate Invitational which we have never played in and with them being another conference team, it is going to be great. We will finish with the Pat Bradley Invitational which we have played in the past few years. I think it is a stronger fall schedule for us and we are anxious to see us go head to head with other league schools.
GB: Are you implementing any new and exciting training methods?
BA: We are going to be beta testing an Olympic mental training program. It is all about developing your mental training program and the strength of it can be measured in a much more structured way. Hopefully, come any tournament next spring, we will see a significant improvement in how the girls believe in themselves on the golf course and that will follow through to the commitment of shots and being able to hold their round together for 18 holes. Understanding what to think before, during, and as you are walking between shots. We are going to be building their self image. It is a program that is building their self image to where they fully trust their swings and believe in their thoughts.
GB: What kind of goals do you have in mind that will make this fall season a success?
BA: First of all, beating 300 as a score, and seeing if we can consistently do that, would be a success. That's the aim, collectively, when we are adding up the five scores and we are competing as a team.
JC: We are looking for continued improvement in our scoring averages. We also have a couple of goals, between Brian and I, and that is to focus on the little things and helping the team understand the little things are important in the end. If they focus on that, it is going to bring about big change. Brian and I are going to continue to monitor all the little pieces of preparation that they are trying to do. Additionally, this is the "Year of No Fear," which is our team slogan, and we are trying to remove the fear from the players on the golf course. For Brian and I, as long as we are monitoring those couple of little things, those things will bring the big piece together for us.