The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/672211
22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK NC State freshman women's golfer Naomi Ko has saved some of her best performances for the end of the season. Ko shot an even-par 216 to finish fifth at the ACC Championship April 15-17 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. The strong showing by the Canadian helped the Wolfpack finish fifth as a team, which should provide nice momentum going into the NCAA Regionals May 5-7. The Victoria, British Columbia, native has averaged 75.25 shots per 18 holes in eight tournaments this season, between the fall and spring. She has lowered her average to 74.91 shots in four spring events, with a season-best of 70, which she did on the last day of the ACC event. Ko recently sat down with The Wolf- packer to talk about finishing fifth in the ACC Tournament, her academic goals and what she loves about golf. What was working at the ACC Tourna- ment? "I think everything was coming along. That was prob- ably the best I putted this whole year. My ball striking has improved a lot since the beginning of the season. "A lot of the practice that we've been doing has paid off, and it's paying off at the right time." How would you describe your golf game? "I think I hit a lot of fairways, and I hit pretty far for my size. My iron play was never really my strength, but I did work on it a lot since I came to school. "That has kind of changed the way I play the game. Hitting a lot more greens has definitely helped." Has it helped to have the weather warm up and have a good schedule of tourna - ments? "I'm getting experienced and we are almost done, but I think I am just starting to settle in and be able to soak everything in. Before, everything was so new. "I think it is just experience." Have expectations or goals now changed for you? "I honestly don't try to have high expectations, just because that has happened for me before, and it hasn't ended well. I try to have a goal that is more concept rather than results. "I never really have the goal of, 'I'm going to win this tournament or I'm going to be top five.' I do have that in the back of my head. It is more of what can I do to play my best?" What was the recruiting process like for you to come to NC State? "It was good. Ever since I got here, the people that were already here have helped a lot. It kind of helped that I knew [fellow Canadians] Brittany [Marchand] and Augusta [James] before I came. "Ever since I made the national Canadian team, one of the coaches there used to play golf with NC State coach Page Marsh. So there was that connection. It just all really worked out." What are your golfing plans this summer? "I am going to be playing in a lot more women's ama - teur tournaments. I'll be playing in all the USGA quali- fiers, the Women's Western and Canadian Women's Amateur." What are some of your academic goals at NC State? "I'm thinking of going into sports management. I defi- nitely want to stay in the sports side of things because I really love sports. "I love sports management because it really has a little bit of everything, so it is not focusing in on one concentration. It's a little bit of everything." Who inspired you to want to play golf? "I think my family in general inspired me. I'm the first college athlete in my family. I started because I used to play soccer, but my mom wanted my brother and I to play golf. She heard you could get scholarships to play golf. Obviously, I could get one in soccer as well. "I was like 10-and-a-half years old. I started to like it when I was 12 or 13, when I started to get good. Before it was more about practicing and getting the fundamentals down. "I was really able to connect with my friends at school with golf. I feel like we didn't have much in com - mon because they didn't know anything about golf. It's nice that it became kind of my get-away place. I don't have to be about golf about 24/7, but I got to meet new people with the same interest as me and same goals as me." — Jacey Zembal Getting To Know: Freshman Naomi Ko ■ Women's Golf Quick Questions What is the go-to place to eat at in Victoria, British Columbia? There is a su- shi restaurant that I eat at every time I go back home. Who would you like to see in concert? Beyonce. Team iPhone or Team Android? iPhone. What is a guilty pleasure that you watch on TV? "Gossip Girl" is one, but I wouldn't necessarily say I shouldn't watch it. Probably the Food Network. If you didn't pick NC State, where do you think you would have gone for school? I think I would have gone to somewhere on the West Coast, but no school in particular. If you could try another sport in col - lege, what would it be? I really would like to try soccer or tennis. Who is your favorite pro golfer? Mi- chelle Wie or Inbee Park. What is the longest you've hit off the tee? This past weekend, I went 308 yards. Are you emotionally attached to a certain iron or club in your bag? I would say my six iron. Do you have a favorite class so far at NC State? Parks, Recreation and Tourism 266 with Dr. Edwin Lindsay. Ko shot an even-par 216 en route to a fifth-place finish at the ACC Championship April 15-17. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS