Let’s take a break.
Very few NCAA sports have full-blown split seasons, with official competitions in each. But men’s and women’s golf fit into that category.
And, as of last week, all the NCAA Division I golf programs in Colorado have reached intermission, with Act II not officially beginning until February.
That makes this a good time to look at some of the local highlights for the just-completed fall portion of the schedule. And an eventful fall it was. To wit:
— Although we’ll primarily focus here on the nine Division I teams in Colorado, one of the most notable accomplishments came at NCAA Division II Colorado State University-Pueblo. There, Leina Kim (pictured above) leads the nation’s Division II ranks in scoring average, at 71.2.
Winning large-scale college golf tournaments is no easy matter, but Kim won four individual titles in five events in the fall, finishing third the one time she didn’t post a victory. The junior from the west Pacific island of Saipan was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week four times in five weeks.
“I was only hoping to do my best this season and everything just fell into place,” Kim recently told Guampdn.com. “… I don’t usually have a scoring average in mind but I always try to shoot even or under par. If I struggle, I try to ignore what’s behind me and focus on all the shots that are ahead of me.”
— University of Colorado senior David Oraee (left), winner of the 2014 CGA Stroke Play title, notched the first individual victory of his college career at CU’s Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in late September. In a weather-shortened event at Colorado National Golf Club, Oraee posted the best 36-hole total in CU program history (64-67 for a 13-under-par 131) to win by five strokes.
— Erik Billinger took over the University of Denver men’s team in June, and in his first semester as a head coach, the Pioneers performed both very well and consistently. In tournament fields varying in size from 11 to 17 teams, DU posted two second-place finishes and two thirds in four fall events.
— Two Colorado-based Division I programs recorded team victories in the fall — both at tournaments they hosted. The CU men won the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational and the Colorado State men claimed the title at the Ram Masters Invitational, earning their first team victory in a multi-school event since April 2011.
— Perhaps the most remarkable feat of the fall locally happened at that Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club. In the second round, three players made holes-in-one — all at the same hole (the 195-yard ninth), and all within less than an hour of one another. Drawing aces were Drew McCullough of Wyoming, Shane Fontenot of McNeese State and Pierre Tillement of George Washington
— DU’s Petter Mikalsen had arguably the best fall of any male Division I player at a Colorado school. In four tournaments, the sophomore from Norway recorded two runner-up individual finishes, along with fifth- and 16th-place showings.
— Former CWGA Junior Match Play champion Lindsay McGetrick has developed into very good player at North Carolina State. In the Wolfpack’s final two tournaments of the fall, McGetrick finished ninth and eighth individually. She’s ranked 73rd among the nation’s female college players by Golfweek.
— Jeremy and Yannik Paul, sophomore twins playing for CU, are both included in the top 250 in the nation’s men’s college ranks by Golfweek, with Jeremy 102nd and Yannik 235th.
— In her freshman year of NCAA Division I college golf, Hannah Wood of Centennial not only played every round for the University of Oklahoma, but she posted two top-20 finishes, including a 16th place in her first college tournament ever. She’s No. 183 in Golfweek’s women’s college rankings.
In addition to all of the above, here are a few tidbits from the fall season for Colorado-based Division I teams:
Top-3 Team Finishes in the Fall — DU men 4; CU men 2; Colorado State men 2; CU women 2; DU women 1.
Top-5 Individual Finishes in the Fall — Petter Mikalsen, DU, 3; David Oraee, CU, 1; Jeremy Paul, CU, 1; Yannik Paul, CU, 1; Cameron Harrell, CSU, 1; Chris Korte, DU, 1; Alexis Keating, CU, 1; Mariell Bruun, DU, 1.
National Team Rankings for Colorado-Based Division I Schools
Men
39. (Golfstat and Golfweek) Colorado
76. (Golfweek) Denver (79th Golfstat)
79. (Golfweek) Colorado State (80th Golfstat)
218. (Golfweek) Air Force Academy (231st Golfstat)
224. (Golfstat) Northern Colorado (237th Golfweek)
Women
35. (Golfstat) Colorado (48th Golfweek)
49. (Golfstat) Denver (50th Golfweek)
95. (Golfstat) Colorado State (97th Golfweek)
183. (Golfstat) Northern Colorado (186th Golfweek)
Top 250 National Individual Rankings for Coloradans and Colorado-Based Players)
Men
51. (Golfstat) Petter Mikalsen, sophomore, DU (106th Golfweek)
102. (Golfweek) Jeremy Paul, sophomore, CU (105th Golfstat)
125. (Golfweek) Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, sophomore, Oklahoma State
158. (Golfweek) David Oraee, senior, CU (249th Golfstat)
200. (Golfstat) Dominic Kieffer, junior, CSU
222. (Golfstat) Cameron Harrell, senior, CSU
235. (Golfweek) Yannik Paul, sophomore, CU
Women
73. (Golfweek) Former Coloradan Lindsay McGetrick, senior, North Carolina State (81st Golfstat)
99. (Golfweek) Esther Lee, sophomore, CU, (107th Golfstat)
154. (Golfweek) Alexis Keating, junior, CU (162nd Golfstat)
183. (Golfweek) Centennial resident Hannah Wood, freshman, Oklahoma
201 (Golfweek) Jessica Carty, sophomore, DU (239th Golfstat)
212. (Golfweek) Isabel Southard, junior, DU (248th Golfstat)
236. (Golfweek) Elyse Smidinger, junior, DU
240. (Golfweek and Golfstat) Brittany Fan, freshman, CU
