by Zachary Hall, Outpost Contributor
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In its second full season, the University of Nevada women's golf team has finished in the top half of the standings in every tournament they played and earned high praise from Nevada Athletic Director Chris Ault.
"They have made incredible progress," Ault said.
Added to Wolf Pack athletics in 1997 after being disbanded in 1979 for lack of resources, the Pack women must compete in the athletic department for budget dollars as well as on the course for those top finishes.
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Standout golfer Angie Yoon practices at Wolf Run. Photo courtesy of Nevada Athletic Department |
Sheehan was a junior on the 1979 team that was dissolved because of financial reasons. She later transferred to San Jose State College in California.
Now a Reno resident, Sheehan was Ault's top choice for several reasons.
"She was the only person for the job," Ault said. "Her enthusiasm for golf and this university got this program off the ground."
Sheehan built a women's team that could compete on the golf course and for its funding.
To solidify the program, she and Ault searched for a coach who understood women's golf.
"God, the whole process was so difficult," Sheehan said. "If I had known about the amount of work that we would have to go through I wouldn't have done it unless I got more money (laughing)."
Sheehan
worked pro bono as a favor for the university.
"I just thought that the program would help women's golf in Reno," she said.
In summer 1997, Carl Laib was named head coach of the Pack women's golf team.
Laib arrived with top credentials. He was Sheehan's caddie for 12 years on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour and was an assistant coach for Stanford, a national power team, in 1995.
"When Patty decided on me, I thought it was a great opportunity," Laib said. "I'm having a lot of fun working with these young golfers, and I'm enjoying recruiting additional players for the future."
Last season, the team's first after the 18-year hiatus, every player was a freshman except junior Amanda Eisenhart, who transferred from Pepperdine.
The Pack struggled in the early season last fall, but came on strong in the fourth tournament, where they finished seventh out of 20 teams in the Lumberjack Invitational at the University of Northern Arizona.
"That was really amazing," Laib said. "The girls really came together quickly."
By the spring season, 1998, the Pack carried home first place in the Women's Classic at California State at Northridge. This was still only the eighth tournament since the squad returned.
"Last year we really had a lot of fun," all Big-West performer Angie Yoon said. "We got better and better with every tournament."
The Pack finished fifth overall out of 12 in the Big West conference standings.
This season, Yoon, a sophomore, has dominated the competition, finishing first overall in the Rainbow Invitational in Kauai, Hawaii.
The women have improved from last year already, finishing in the top half of the four tournaments they played through November.
"To have that kind of success this early in the program is great," Laib said. "I've been blessed with players that have talent and a good work ethic."
For women's golf, though, it's not just about the wins or losses, it's also about the amount of money the athletic department can spare to a non-revenue program.
"In college sports, really only football and men's basketball make the university any money," Ault said. "Here is no exception. It makes it really difficult to decide how much is spent in other sports like men's and women's golf."
Under Title Nine rules, men's and women's golf must share the same percentage of the athletic department budget.
To get a greater share for the women's golf team, both the men and women must do well.
To help facilitate this, the University of Nevada built the Wolf Run Golf Course to act as the home course for both the men and women starting in the spring of 1999.
"It's a first-class facility," Laib said.
The addition will help Laib recruit players and eventually improve the program, a necessary ingredient for the golf team.
"All we can do is try and put a good product out on the course," Laib said. "We are certainly moving in that direction."
Posted Nov. 24, 1998
Copyright 1998 Nevada Outpost
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