Reinaldo Llerena/ Staff Writer
reinaldo.llerena@fiusm.com
When the 2015 FIU women’s golf season tees off in late September, it will mark the beginning of the farewell tour for three veteran golfers. Meghan MacLaren, Sophie Godley and Carla Jane, are all seniors this season on this season’s golf squad and will not be eligible to compete after this season. However, the aging roster will force head coach Joe Vogel to attract a whole new team of golfers to FIU before the rest of his current team graduates.
MacLaren is perhaps one of the most accomplished golfers in FIU history. She capped off an excellent 2014 season with a 25th place finish out of 131 competitors at the NCAA championships this past spring. She was the first golfer to reach the NCAA championships since Moira Dunn in 1994, a span of 20 years. As a result of her outstanding season, MacLaren was named to the NCAA St. George All-Region Team for her performance in the NCAA championships.
But MacLaren’s 25th place finish at the NCAA championships was not the sole highlight of her 2014 campaign. Over the course of the season, MacLaren went on to place first overall in four tournaments out of the 10 that FIU participated in last season. Along with her four first place finishes, MacLaren racked up ten top 10 finishes and 12 top 25 finishes with a scoring average of 72.43. Lastly, MacLaren shot even or under par 16 times out of 35 rounds total.
Carla Jane, another seasoned veteran is also in her last season at FIU. A native of Chile, Jane has been a solid contributor to the women’s golf program since she started in 2012.
As the fifth starter for the majority of last season, Jane posted a respectable scoring average of 76.5 over her 28 rounds. In her 28 rounds, she only had three rounds of even par or under. Her lowest round of the season occurred at the Johnie Imes Invitational, where she shot one under par in the second round of the tournament.
Sophie Godley, meanwhile, is aiming to rebound after a rough 2014 season. She only played in nine rounds last season and her scoring average soared to 82, ten more strokes than MacLaren.
Those statistics are outliers compared to what Godley has been able to accomplish at her time at FIU. During the 2012-2013 season, Godley was named to the Sun Belt Conference’s Women’s Golf All-Conference First-Team and All-Tournament Team. In 2013, Godley posted her best ever tournament score, finishing with a two under par 214 at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational. Her best finish of 2014 came a few weeks later at the Amelia Island Collegiate, where she shot an even par 216.
While those three seniors begin their final season, it is up to the other members of this tightly knit team to contribute once the seniors depart. Luckily for FIU, there are left in the capable hands of Coralia Arias, Camila Serrano, and breakout golfer Katerina Krasova.
Krasova, who began last season as the number two starter behind MacLaren, compiled an impressive stat sheet in her first full season of college play. A native of the Czech Republic, Krasova posted a scoring average of 76.14 strokes over 28 rounds. Competing as an individual in the Mountain View Collegiate, Krasova shot four under par 68 en route to a 10th place finish in the event.
Arias, meanwhile, has been a staple in the starting lineup for FIU. The junior from Ecuador has been impressive ever since she joined the university’s golf program two years ago. As a freshman, Arias dominated at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational with a final score of six under par. Arias score at the event was the lowest score by an FIU player in 20 years.
As a sophomore, Arias did not slow down. She was second on the team in stroke average (75.36) and earned a top 10 finish at the 2015 C-USA Championships. Her best result during that year came at the Amelia Island Collegiate, where she placed third with an even par score for the weekend.
Perhaps the successor to MacLaren, Serrano broke out in her freshman season, securing the title of C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2013. She followed her initial outing with a consistent season, scoring one top 10 while tallying six top 25s. In her 28 rounds, she posted a scoring average of 75.61, good enough for third on the team in scoring average.
However, a problem arises in the near future. FIU opens up the fall season with only one new player, Ana Maria Rengifo, a freshman from Colombia. Besides Rengifo, the rest of the golf roster are upperclassmen, with the exception of Krasova, who is a sophomore.
In order to combat the aging roster, coach Vogel must step up his recruiting efforts in order to keep the program running. I would expect that Vogel will sign a player or two for the winter portion of the season. Until then, the golf program will head into the 2015-2016 with only one freshman on their roster.
FIU begins play in late September at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colorado. The schedule also includes a three day head to head matchup versus the University of Miami Hurricanes during the leap year weekend in February. The two teams have not announced what course will play host to this matchup. The regular season will finish in early April with the SMU Invite in Dallas, Texas. Postseason play begins two weeks later with the 2016 Conference USA Championships.
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