Championship aspirations drive women’s golf’s early season success

By Bella Giaquinto and Isabella Fernandez De Cueto •

The women’s golf team has started the season strong coming off a finalist finish at the NCAA DII National Championship last season.

The Sharks began their season at the South Regional Preview in Tennessee early this semester where they finished in first place. They continued this success with another first-place finish at the Saint Leo Invitational in October.

During the most recent two tournaments at Flagler Fall and the National Preview, they placed third and fifth. Previous accomplishments have proven to push the team’s championship aspirations forward, framing its winning mindset.

“After seeing that we are capable of competing at the highest level for a national championship, we have a lot of confidence and

hunger to perform even better this season,” said Ellen Ramstedt, captain of the women’s golf team and business administration graduate student.

Ramstedt is among five upperclassmen in the tournament lineup. “The lineup being all upperclassmen helps us a lot. We tend to play the same tournaments every year, so the girls feel familiar with these courses,” said Heather Wall, head coach of the women’s golf team.

While having so many returning golfers can influence the team’s success in competitions, it also has an impact on the development of this year’s new players.

“The upperclassmen are also using the knowledge they’ve gained through their years to lead the younger players, which has been going great,” Wall said.

The Sharks also place importance on team chemistry and culture.

“In recent years, I’ve emphasized team culture and building to make us stronger. This year the chemistry is great throughout the team, creating one of the best atmospheres that I’ve been a part of since being at NSU,” Wall said.

Transfer graduate student and golfer Maia Samuelsson can feel the strength of the team culture after only a few months at NSU.

“NSU is the third university I’ve attended and compared to the other two teams I’ve played on, this has been the best atmosphere and team chemistry I have been a part of,” Samuelsson said.

The Sharks are excited to keep working to maintain their success throughout the remainder of this season.

“Everyone on this team is hardworking. We push each other to get better every day and we will continue to do this until we achieve our goal,” Ramstedt said.

A National Championship is the goal for the Sharks and they are confident in their ability to bring home a title.

“We know we’re one of the best teams, so we just have to stay focused and not get too ahead of ourselves. If we do that and stick to our game plans, it will be a great season,” Wall said.