March 14, 2005

As the University of Northern Colorado women's golf team continues its reclassification process to Division I, the program has taken on a much younger roster than the program has seen in quite some time.

Gone is All-American and school scoring average record holder Emily Russell and two other seniors who contributed heavily to the Bears program over the past four years. This year's team features six very talented freshmen who will team with four upperclassmen to continue the success the team has had the past several seasons.

"Since we are so young, our strength is definitely our returners, especially Meagan (Gutenkauf) and Kelley (Newton)," said head women's golf coach Jack Maughan, who enters his 10th season with the women's program. "Meagan and Kelley will both be key contributors for us. Our freshmen are both a strength and a weakness for us, because they still need time to adjust to collegiate golf."

The leadership starts with junior Meagan Gutenkauf (formerly Meagan Dahlberg), who despite changing her name in the off-season will still bring the same high-level of golf to the course each time out. As a freshman, Gutenkauf finished second at the North Regionals and was 17th overall at the NCAA Division II Championships while finishing second on the team in scoring average. Last year Gutenkauf was once again second on the team in scoring average (80.2 trailing only Russell), while setting a new event and round scoring record at the Bear Spring Invitational. In the fall, she was first on the team with a 78.7 stroke average.

"Meagan is a two-year major contributor who was key to making a Division II title run her freshman season," said Maughan. "She has played both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions both her freshman and sophomore years. Her strength is her even keeled demeanor on the golf course. It is difficult to tell if she is playing great or poor. This is something she can demonstrate to our younger players; they need to take on a similar demeanor and attitude."

The only other upperclassmen on the team are seniors Erin Bessey and Nicole Schoenfeld, who have seen limited action in their careers at Northern Colorado. Last year Bessey played in three events and had a top-30 finish at the Bear Spring Invitational but did not see action this past fall. Schoenfeld played in four events a year ago (with a 20th place finish at the Maverick Spring Invitational) and was 15th in the fall in the Denver/Wyoming tri-match. The only other returnee is sophomore Kelley Newton who fourth on the team in scoring average last fall.

But the future of the program definitely is in the hands of the freshman class, arguably the most talented to set foot on the UNC campus. Their arrival is a direct correlation to the Bears transition to Division I, giving them an opportunity to play Division I golf.

"We had our best recruiting year in the short history of our program last year," said Maughan. "The freshmen are the most accomplished to ever be in the program."

Freshman Jenny Henderson was tied for second in scoring average during the fall.

A pair of those freshmen made an immediate impact from the moment they arrived on campus last August. North Dakota native Jenny Henderson and Montana native Tina Bickford left behind their cold home states to come play on the sunny courses in Colorado and tied for second in scoring average in the fall.

Henderson was a six-time all-state selection at Fargo South High School, placing in the top five in the state tournament from the time she was in seventh grade through her senior season of high school. She also helped her school to six consecutive state championships. Henderson was the Bears top finisher in each of her first two collegiate events, did not finish lower than third among the Bears golfers during the fall and finished the fall season by placing ninth at the Kenneth Smith Classic.

Bickford was a four-time all-state selection at Great Falls High, set a Class AA record on her way to state medalist honors her sophomore year and was the state runner-up each of her last two years of high school. She was the team's top finisher in each of the fall's final three events including finishing in a tie for fourth place at the Kenneth Smith Classic to end the fall season. Her 79.8 scoring average was tied with Henderson for second on the team.

"Both Jenny and Tina were the top players in their respective states and highly recruited," said Maughan. "They are the type of players that we targeted to help lead us to being a competitive Division I program."

Fellow freshmen Katie Avery and Kate Dobbs were the other freshmen to see action during the fall season. Avery finished third at the Colorado 5A state championships her senior season at Highlands Ranch High and earned all-state honorable mention honors. She was fourth on the team in scoring average in the fall (83.5) and was 19th at the Kenneth Smith Classic. Dobbs was a back-to-back state qualifier at Heritage High and played in four events during the fall.

The roster is rounded out by a pair of freshmen who did not see action during the fall. Alicia Fortney was a state qualifier at ThunderRidge High as a senior while Amy Patterson captained her team at Otis High School.

Freshman Tina Bickford had an impressive fall campaign for the Bears.

"This spring we look for all of our freshmen to continue to improve and be more consistent for us," said Maughan.

The team is playing a full Division I schedule this season with tournaments in the spring at Sam Houston, Santa Clara and Texas State besides hosting their annual Northern Colorado Spring Invitational in April. In the fall they competed against some of the top teams in the country at the Heather Farr Memorial, Ron Moore Intercollegiate and Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic.

"Our schedule has improved in the quality of the tournaments we are playing in," said Maughan. "This will incrementally improve as we transition to Division I championship eligibility. We need to compete against the top program week-in and week-out to improve. The fall schedule was tough and we performed well at times, just not as consistent as we needed to play. That will happen as the team matures. We were able, however, to defeat several established Division I programs."

With the influx of talented newcomers who have already played against some of the best teams in the country, and the experience and leadership of Gutenkauf, Maughan hopes his team will perform at its best this spring.