The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH 2017 ■ 79 times throughout the three-day tournament in Puerto Rico, led by Ko's medalist effort. Last spring, NC State had three top-10 individual finishes — that number is al- ready at two after one spring tournament, and there are multiple players capable of doing so. After the team combined for 26 rounds of shooting par or better last season, 23 such rounds have already been tallied, led by Clyburn's eight, which eclipsed 2016's team-best total of seven posted by then- senior Rachel Taylor. "I think that's incredibly empowering for everybody to feel that on any given day anybody can step forward and post a red [below-par] number," Marsh said. As always, the coach is focused on en- suring that her team grows over time. The other key is for her unit to talk about win- ning championships, which happened be- fore Puerto Rico — but Marsh noted "it always helps when you can break through." "I feel like that is what their goals are, that's why they were interested in coming to play at a program that can support them in such a fashion, play that type of sched- ule, and have all of the great facilities and staff that we have," she continued. "I've intentionally talked about winning because you have to have a winning mind- set. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and fall short before you can take home hardware. "Coming down the stretch, every single one of our events will be great tests. It's go- ing to be fun to see. We have to learn how to follow up." Following up an impressive performance with another is the next step. If the Pack can do that, Marsh will once again find her- self in paradise — even when the Pack is back competing in North Carolina instead of Puerto Rico or Hawai'i, where the team plays March 11-15. ■ Key Players To Watch Sophomore Naomi Ko The Canadian quickly found her stride last season — opening the spring with a 55th-place showing but improving nearly every outing to post four straight top-30 finishes, capped by a tie for fifth at the ACC Championships. So far this year, she tied for 18th at the Landfall Tradition in October and then started this spring with a tie for first to lead the way at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. She was ranked 120th nationally by GolfWeek as of mid-February. Sophomore India Clyburn Ko broke through to win the first event of the spring, but Clyburn boasts the team's lowest stroke average through the four events overall on the year (three happened in the fall). She was also ranked 30th nationally by GolfWeek as of mid-February. The Cleethorpes, England, native's 18-hole average of 71.92 is impressive, and she has gone as low as 68 in a round, best on the team. All three of her fall performances were under par, leading to a squad-best two top-20 finishes so far. Senior Sarah Bae After appearing in nine of the 10 tournaments with a pair of top-20 finishes last year during her first year in Raleigh following a transfer from High Point, she's more comfortable according to Marsh. Her 18-hole average of 72.66 in the first event of the spring — where she tied for ninth — is just on the heels of Ko's team-best clip of 71.6, while her year-long average of 74.22 ranks third on the squad. The four-time all-state pick prepped at Athens Drive in Raleigh and was ranked 184th nationally by GolfWeek as of mid-February. ■ By The Numbers 3 Americans are on the 2017 roster — and all three are North Carolina natives. The remainder are imports from China (two), Austria, England, Canada and Germany. 5 Of the nine girls on the roster are in their sopho- more year of eligibility; the rest of the squad includes a walk-on true freshman, one junior and two seniors. 8 Rounds of 70 or under have been posted by the Pack so far this season. Sophomore India Clyburn has three of the four under 70 (plus a 70), while the other half have been posted by four different play- ers. Eight of Clyburn's 12 rounds have been even par or better. Noting The Pack • NCSU notched nine individual top-20 finishes last year with a pair of medalist honors. This year, they have totaled seven such showings with sopho- more Naomi Ko's individual title at Puerto Rico. • The ACC will be loaded as usual. In the Feb. 15 GolfWeek rankings, nine of the league's 12 teams were listed among the nation's top 50 and all 12 were in the top 100. "The ACC is deep this year," head coach Page Marsh said. "It will be fun, very competitive and helps us all be ready down the stretch." • In November, the Pack signed Monika Hartl, a native of Bamberg, Germany, who will join the pro- gram for the 2017-18 season. She has competed for the German National Team and is ranked seventh in the German golf junior rankings and No. 143 in the European golf rankings. Sophomore India Clyburn was ranked 30th in the country as an individual in the Feb. 15 GolfWeek rankings. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS