The core of the women’s golf team might be its underclassmen, but the punch comes from its senior captain.
After an 11th place finish at the Central District Classic in their first tournament of 2005, the Wildcats have reeled off three-straight top-five finishes, including the first team tournament win since 2001.
And at the center of the resurgence has been Ina Kim.
In Northwestern’s tournament win at the Mountain View Collegiate in March, the senior from Encino, Calif., broke school records for best individual round (67) and best 54-hole score (211) in a tournament. The performance earned her Big Ten Women’s Golfer of the Week honors.
At her current pace, Kim will finish with the best single-season scoring average and the best career scoring average in NU history.
Coach Chris Regenberg said Kim has been incredibly accurate, giving her a chance to score low in every round. Kim’s scoring average is 75.75, more than two strokes lower than her average last season.
Coming into her final season at NU, Kim said she wanted to help take the Cats to the NCAA championships for the first time in her career.
So far she has been impressive, with four top-10 finishes this season, including a career-best second place at the Mountain View Collegiate.
Despite the accolades, one thing has eluded Kim: an individual tournament title.
Emily Gilley was the last individual champion for the Cats, capturing the 2000 Verizon “Mo”Morial championship.
“It’s definitely something I would have like to do,” Kim said. “But I still have a few tournaments left.”
Her next chance for a title is this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the Lady Buckeye Invitational, the last match before the Big Ten championships.
After finishing third last week at the Lady Boilermaker Invitational, the Cats have momentum going into this weekend’s tournament.
Ranked 44th in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, NU will have another opportunity to improve its position at the Lady Buckeye Invitational before the postseason tournaments.
Kim said this year’s team has the best shot to advance past the NCAA Central Regional championships to the national championships for the first time since 2000.
“The dynamic is so incredible this year,” Kim said. “We work very well as a team and have high hopes for the rest of the season.”
Scott Duncan can be reached at [email protected].
