Optimism surrounds
Skylights golf team
Ryan Divish - Havre Daily News Sports Editor
Montana State University-Northern womenıs
golf coach Warren Quick has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about for the
2004 season.
The Skylights return plenty of experienced
golfers from last spring, including Chastity Wagner, Melanie Fee, Julie Wagner and Lorrie
Keller. They will be joined by Anita Strommen to
round out the small, yet talented, squad.
³I definitely think we are going to be much
improved from last year,² Quick said. ³Most of our
girls played last year which is only going to help them this season.²
Indeed, Northern will compete on the same
courses as last year and that familiarity will only help.
³Last year, I think that they were a little
intimidated by the courses and the tournaments,² Quick
said. ³This year everything is going to be much more familiar with the courses
and playing at this level.²
Chastity Wagner, a sophomore from Browning,
was probably the Skylightsı most consistent scorer last season. She finished a
respectable 19th at the Rocky Mountain Invitational with scores of 99, 88 and
94.
In two tournaments, Wagner had a 97.6
scoring average and placed in the top 25 in both.
³Chastity was really consistent for us last
year,² Quick said.
³Sheıs going to be even better this season.²
Fee also competed in two tournaments last
season, averaging a 98 for 18 holes.
Keller averaged just over 100 in two
tournaments.
Julie Wagner, a former all-stater for Havre High, played in just one tournament last
year after transferring in for the spring semester. But Quick
is looking forward to having Wagner for a whole season.
³Because she transferred in at semester,
Julie missed out on the fall season,² Quick said. ³She
only got to play in one tournament. It will be nice to have her for a whole
season.²
Perhaps the biggest key returnee for Quick
is his assistant coach.
Former Beaver Creek Golf Course head pro
Jim Kato is in his second year with the program. As a certified teaching pro,
he has offered much advice and swing help for the Skylights.
³Thank goodness for Jim Kato,² Quick said. ³He is as good as they come at fixing golf
swings. The girls really trust him and the things he tells them. They know that
the things he tells them and the things he changes in their swings will only
make them better golfers.²
As for the rest of the conference, the
Skylights will have their hands full with powerful teams from
Rocky has won the last six straight
Frontier Conference titles and appeared in the NAIA national golf tournament
the past six years as well. RMC only seems to get stronger with each season.
The Bears return all-conference golfers Ashley Griffith, Abbie
Poll and Emily Jewett.
LC State loses All-American and conference
player of the year Ilka Loubser,
but does return all-conference performer Christina Bernicki.
³Rocky and LC are going to be really good
again,² Quick said. ³They always have strong
teams. But the rest of the conference
should be pretty even. I think itıs up in the air and we can be right in the
middle of the rest of the teams.²