Determined to Make the Postseason

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Three months have passed since the Kansas State women's golf team finished just short of its second championship of the fall season at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i.

The Wildcats, who won the season-opening Powercat Invitational and finished second place at the Ron Moore Invitational, closed out the fall shooting the second-best 54-hole score in school history at Kapolei Golf Club, concluding the event with a three-round total of 20-under par 844, just three shots behind tournament champion Colorado State.

The Wildcats' three top-two showings marked the most for an entire season since the 2014-15 campaign.

"It's been a nice break," head coach Stew Burke said. "That's one of the unique things about our sport — we get going and all the sudden we have a big break in the middle and then spring hits and we're right back up with the rankings and competition. Could you imagine if college football took eight weeks off four games into the season? It's something that makes our sport really unique."

Now K-State prepares to travel over water again to open the spring season at the Puerto Rico Classic at Grand Reserve Golf Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico this coming Sunday through Tuesday. The tournament, hosted by Purdue, features 18 teams, including a string of talented squads in Arkansas, Auburn, Iowa State, LSU, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Northwestern and Vanderbilt.

"We're going to play some monster teams," Burke said. "The really cool thing is our schedule starts out really tough. Our first event we're going to see a lot of top-25 teams. We need to remember we're a top-30 team and belong with these teams and this competition. Early season is a great chance to knock off some of these elite programs. There's going to be a little bit of rust, there's going to be a few more mistakes than there would be midseason, but if we can capitalize on that and play our game and focus on putting three good rounds together that'll be the goal for the first event."

The motto for this talented K-State squad might as well be "California or Bust."

These Wildcats are determined to make the postseason.

"This team has every attribute it takes to be in the national championship and to be competitive in the national championship," Burke said. "The one thing they lack is the experience of competing in the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Nationals, but we have to start somewhere, get our team there, and be seeded where they belong beating out some of the best teams in the country throughout the fall season. I'm very excited about the spring."

The team is headed, of course, by All-American senior Carla Bernat, who won the Powercat Invitational and finished second at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational. Bernat finished the fall season ranked 37^th in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings. Bernat became the first Wildcat to earn All-America status last season while becoming just the second player in school history to advance to the NCAA Championship. She set the school record for scoring average at 70.90, nearly two strokes better than the previous record.

"I've been fortunate enough to have coached major champions and players on the US Amateur and the best players in the world, and Carla is right up there," Burke said. "She's got the 'it' factor that these players had. She's always looking to get 1% better and that's rare. When a player is that good, they can become content. She understands she's going to try and do this for a living, and I know she'll do it for a great number of years. Having that burning desire to improve is what's going to keep her out there after college."

While Bernat had a 70.21 scoring average in the fall with three top-five finishes, sophomore Alenka Navarro averaged 73.29 strokes per round with one top-five finish. Senior transfer Sophie Bert had a scoring average of 73.36 with four top-10 finishes, and freshman Nanami Nakashima averaged 73.50 and had one top-five finish.

"Carla is world class and Sophie is very close to being world class as well," Burke said. "Nanami has been a very strong addition. She's had some great rounds and is a tremendous ball striker. She's just really starting to come out of her shell."

Burke has been impressed with the growth of his freshmen, including Natalia Fiel Ros, who played just three rounds but is just getting started.

"Our two freshmen are on the right trajectory and are better and better," he said. "They're hard working, and they understand they have to spend some extra time outside of practice. They're inquisitive and want to become better, and that's nice for a coach to see. When they're out there on their own, you're in your office and know they're working on the right stuff. Natalia is making some progress. She had some things she really needed to work on her first fall from a technical standpoint, and she's made really nice improvements.

"We have a close group and we're very, very proud of how they hold each other accountable and represent our program."

Burke is pleased with how far the team has come.

"I just like this group," he said. "We're seven-players deep and everybody is competing, and it keeps the starters on their toes. They want to improve and chase records. That's really cool to see. In the fall, we had some wobbles, but they bounced back really well every single time. We ranked in the top four in pars in the nation, and you look at that top five on the list and there were pretty big hitters and blue chippers of women's golf. We were also second in individual rounds under par. That's incredible and just a testament to their ability."

One key to perhaps determining the success in the spring?

"We just have to get off to a better start in that first round," he said. "We had a couple of lulls in tournaments and left ourselves with a lot to do. At Denver we were dead last after nine holes in the first round and the last team on the golf course. To have a really strong back nine and battle back and get ourselves somewhere where we could move up was awesome.

"We just need to get off to a better start. That'll only come with experience as they understand where they should be on the leaderboard."

And where should K-State be on the leaderboard in the spring?

Look toward the top.

"These girls have the desire to win," Burke said. "We're ready to go. I'm excited. It's going to be a great year. I think we've really put ourselves in a good position to do something pretty cool."

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Carla Bernat

Sophie Bert

Natalia Fiel Ros

Nanami Nakashima

Alenka Navarro

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