Women’s tennis, golf teams counting on new freshmen talent

MONMOUTH, Ill. — If the fresh starts for the women’s golf and tennis programs at Monmouth College were viewed as a horse race, one could say that golf got out of the gate fast, but that tennis is catching up at the first turn.

Women’s golf debuted as a varsity sport in 1999, and by 2002, the Fighting Scots were champions of the Midwest Conference, led by a group that included Molly McNamara and eventual four-time all-conference performer Amy Rassman. Women’s tennis, meanwhile, returned after a 10-year hiatus in 2002, but the Fighting Scots struggled initially, placing last in the MWC in each of their first two conference tourney appearances and going 1-21 in dual meets.

Both sports rely on a small number of players for scoring, and tennis looks like it will be able to make a quick recovery with a freshman recruiting class led by Shauna Skowronski from Peoria Notre Dame. Skowronski has taken over the No. 1 singles position and started her career last Saturday with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over an experienced player from Ripon, last year’s third-place team in the league.

She teamed with sophomore Sara Yerks to lead a sweep of the doubles competition for the Scots, and her two victories allowed Skowronski to capture the first MWC Performer of the Week of the 2004 season. Also contributing to the doubles sweep were upperclassmen Holly Trotter and Anna Beasley and freshmen Elizabeth Anderson and Rachel Atherton.

“She’s got a prety solid game in all facets,” said coach Dennis Mann of Skowronski. “There’s no part she can’t do well. Her mental toughness is very good, and she plays with more maturity than a freshman normally would.”

Mann was asked if Skowronski can get a good workout in practice, and he was quick to reply that her doubles partner gets the job done.

“Sara Yerks can definitely hit with her,” he said of the Scots’ No. 2 singles player. “Sara played No. 1 for us last year and has a ton of ability. If she improves her self-confidence a little, we should have a heckuva 1-2 punch.”

Rounding out the No. 3-6 positions against Ripon were Atherton, Trotter, Anderson and sophomore Heather Gerard, respectively. Mann said it’s possible that Beasley or freshman Katti Jablenski could also crack the singles rotation.

Mann knows his team isn’t ready to topple the league’s elite just yet, but his squad’s narrow 5-4 loss to Ripon should signal more hard-fought dual meets to follow.

“We definitely want to move up from the bottom of the conference,” said Mann, who coached the team in its initial season and then filled in on an interim basis last fall when coach LeAnn Hagen fell ill. “We think we can be much better against the tougher teams in the conference and we have a good chance to beat some of the teams in the middle.”

An indicator of Monmouth’s progress should come Sept. 24-25, when the Scots see Carroll, St. Norbert and Beloit during a trip to Wisconsin. Those teams finished fourth through sixth, respectively, in the MWC last year.

The Scots play at one of the premier facilities in the conference, the MC Tennis Stadium, and it’s safe to say that the women’s golf team also has an outstanding home venue. Monmouth practices and hosts home meets at Gibson Woods Golf Course. Scots’ coach Bill Pieper knows the course inside and out, having led Monmouth High School golfers to seven state championships, including six straight from 1985-90.

Pieper’s team is currently feeling the loss of Rassman, who concluded her outstanding career last fall, and fellow All-MWC performers Liz Gard and Nicole Auclair, who have also graduated. Sophomore Kacie Parge is the lone returner from the group whose scores counted at last fall’s MWC Championships, where Monmouth placed fourth.

“She’s definitely going to be counted on as the one we look to to be our score leader,” said Pieper of Parge, who has carded a 92 and a 99 in the Scots’ first two rounds this year. “Also, she was voted captain by her teammates, so it’s clear that they hold her in the same regard as I do.”

Freshman Pamela Steskal has scored slightly higher than Parge at both events, with a low round of 95 in Monmouth’s season opener. Other players whose scores have counted this season for Monmouth are freshman Kathleen Woolley, “improved” junior Stefanie Fitzsimmons and senior Rebecca Gillengerten, who is back on the team after a two-year layoff due to a wrist injury. Freshman Meghan Lucker and sophomore Sarah Zaleski round out the squad.

Although Monmouth’s team scores are not yet where Pieper wants them to be, the Scots figure to receive a big boost later this fall when they play host to the MWC Championships at Gibson Woods. Local knowledge of the course is always a plus, and Pieper hopes it will help to close the gap on several teams, including defending champion Illinois College.

“That has to be a bright spot for us,” said Pieper. “The girls have worked real hard out there, and we’ve played more practice rounds there than we did last year.”

Monmouth will also play at Gibson Woods this Saturday when 22 full teams are expected for the Fighting Scots Invitational. The event tees off at 9 a.m. All but two of the MWC teams with women’s golf will be on hand to get a round in on the course before the conference meet, which is set for Oct. 2-3.