Hana Kim didn’t golf well this fall. In fact, she had a rough time on and off the links. In addition to making the usual adjustments of a college freshman, Kim had to adapt to the world of college athletics – fast.

“My poor play was mostly my inability to adjust to a new atmosphere,” Kim says. “Getting to know people, meeting with my counselor, starting school. And then I had to travel (for golf) from the very first weekend.”

Kim, a native of Encino, Calif., faced a geographical challenge as well.

“When I decided to come to school here, I knew that it was a different culture than L.A., and I was really excited to learn it,” Kim says. “What I didn’t realize was that it might be hard to make that adjustment. It was tough for me to be so far away from my support system, especially my parents and sister.”

Kim has certainly come into her own in the spring season, finishing first for the Wildcats in their two most recent tournaments — the Buckeye Invitational, where she nailed a hole-in-one, and the Big Ten championships.

Kim’s improvement has come at the best possible time for the No. 16 Northwestern women’s golf team, which travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the NCAA east regionals starting Thursday. The Cats finished second behind Duke last year and advanced to the NCAA championships.

As for missing her family, Kim’s sister, Ina Kim, will not be far away for long — she will be joining her older sister as an NU golfer next fall.

“We’re really close and our golf games have developed and grown at the same rate,” Hana Kim says. “We’ve always practiced together, and it will be good when she comes here because we can do what we’ve done every year of our lives.”

Said Ina Kim: “First and foremost, I looked at the school and saw that it gave me what I needed. My sister being there is an additional bonus.”

Ina, an All American, is an exciting prospect for the Cats. The sisters, who played on the U.S. junior national team together in 1999-2000, will be attending the same school for the first time since grammar school.

“We went to rival high schools; mine was half the size of hers,” Hana Kim says. “I wanted a smaller school and she wanted bigger. We both played for the boys teams at our high schools until her school got a girls team her sophomore year, so now she’s on the girls team.”

Kim, who has been playing since her golf-enthusiast parents got her started at age four, says she enjoyed being on the boys team.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing with guys,” Kim says. “We played from the blue tees, which was longer than what I was used to. It was good for my game because I had to make up for my lack of distance with longer putts.”

Kim became a decorated junior golfer, ranked as high as 11th by Golfweek. She was also a two-time high school second-team All American in 1999 and 2000.

With her past success, Kim had difficulty figuring out how to get her game back to where it had been before her fall slump.

Now one of NU’s top players, Kim attributes her breakthrough this spring largely to pep talks from assistant coach Kevin Lynch.

“Kevin helped me get my priorities straight,” Kim says. “I was naive coming in, and I needed a helping hand to pull me out of the mess I got myself into.”

Adapting to a new team atmosphere was also a challenge for Kim, who says she was used to the kids she had grown up golfing with.

“You’re thrown into this team and expected to mesh right away,” Kim said. “While I really like every girl on the team, it’s hard to make up for 15 years of history.”

It took time, but Kim has developed a bond with the team, especially with fellow freshman Lauren Grzebien.

“It’s the freshman thing, and also we live down the hall from each other,” Kim says of her friendship with Grzebien. “Actually, it’s safe to say that she lives in my room. She’s super-shy, I’m way too talkative; we just balance each other really well.”

Elizabeth Burden, who recently received All-Big Ten honors, says Kim has been a vital member of the Cats’ squad.

“Hana contributes a lot to our team,” Burden said. “Being a freshman and such a strong player, she gives the team confidence.”

Kim’s game has come together in the last month, as her tournament results demonstrate.

“I want to do my part for the team, and of course I’m going into (the regionals) trying to win,” Kim says.

Of course?

“I learned that when you go into a tournament, you don’t go in to get second,” she says. “When you make this commitment and work this hard — I come home every day with calluses on my hands and horrible tan lines all over — you aren’t going to pose next to the winner.

“You want to be the winner.”

Of her successful adjustment to Evanston on and off the golf course, Kim says she is simply trying to follow Lynch’s advice: “As Kevin would say, I’m learning to appreciate the process.”

For the Cats to duplicate last year’s NCAA success, the process includes Kim continuing her current trend and playing strong golf this weekend at the regionals.