Sept. 23, 2004
By Jesse Virgil
Staff Writer

A lot of teams with six new players and only two returning players don’t have aspects of placing in the top ten in the nation. However, the St. Ambrose women’s golf team looks to improve after a 2003 season in which the girls finished 15 in the nation.

“Our first goal is to incorporate new talent into the program, get them adjusted, get them used to the way we get things done,” Coach Ron Wastyn said. “The second thing is to quickly determine what we need to work on to get it done.”

The team features Senior Katie Brubaker, who will be a physical inspiration on the course and an emotional inspiration off it. Emily Petruccelli is the only other returning player. New additions to the team are senior transfer Kelli Long and Freshmen Nicole Keeny, Emily Dean, Heather Brooks, Amber Heller, and Jenna Siefken.

Wastyn has high hopes for the freshmen and believes they have potential to contribute this season.

“Nicole Keeny is a freshman from Davenport West, who was second on the team in the qualifying rounds and sixth in state last year,” Wastyn said. “Heather Brooks is from West Des Moines. She hit a hole in one and shot a 77 in the qualifying rounds, so she has extraordinary potential.”

Wastyn believes that it will take everyone on the team to reach their goals and no one player should be singled out, but with every team there is a leader. Senior Katie Brubaker is ready for the long haul of the season and wants to share the wisdom she has gained over the years with the freshmen.

“It definitely pays off to put in a lot of practice, and I wish I had the same practice ethic my freshman and sophomore year as I do now,” Brubaker said.
During the off-season Brubaker runs and lifts weights regularly. She spends a lot of her free time playing on different courses and at the driving ranges.

So far this season the women have placed first in the SAU Triangular, second in the Cornell College tournament, third in the Augustana Quadrangular, and fourth in the Mt. Mercy Invite and Wartburg Invitational.

“There’s no reason with the talent and dedication of the people we have not to get into the top ten at nationals,” Wastyn said.

The teams first step towards the national tournament will be the Midwest Classic Conference Tournament, beginning Oct. 3 and the NAIA Regional VII Tournament Oct. 10.

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