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YSU women’s golf team young, but progressing
By STEVE WILAJ
YOUNGSTOWN
About a week ago, the Youngstown State women’s golf team was scheduled for practice until inclement weather forced Penguins coach Roseann Schwartz to cancel.
“I called off practice because it was rainy and wet and I just didn’t want them out there getting sick for no reason,” Schwartz said.
But to Schwartz’s surprise, four of her players still showed up.
“They said they were going to practice anyway and I said, ‘Yay! If you want to go out, you can,’ ” she said. “Most people would just stay back, but they will go and do even more than I expect of them.”
It’s moments like those why Schwartz, in her 18th season as the Penguins coach, calls her current team “extremely dedicated.”
“They’ve set their goals and they go after them probably more than I’ve ever had a group do,” she said.
The Penguins boast a team of only one senior and two juniors. The other players are sophomores and freshmen.
So far this season, YSU placed second out of four teams at the Detroit Invitational and second out of five at the YSU Invitational. They also finished sixth out of seven at the Cleveland State Invitational and third out of five at the Robert Morris Invitational.
Coming off a fairly successful 2011-12 season, Schwartz said the early season finishes can be deceiving.
“This year we don’t look like we’re doing as well as last year, only we’re doing better,” she said. “The other teams just shot some scores that were really low.”
At the Detroit Invitational, the Penguins shot a two round score of 619. They followed that with a 614 at the YSU Invitational.
“I’m used to my team being first, second or third,” Schwartz said. “It’s tough on them when they compete and they don’t finish first, second, or third because it’s sort of like an image of our team.”
As the lone senior, Sarah Heimlich is counted on to guide the youthful roster. Heimlich has been consistent all year, finishing in the top 10 in each tournament.
“She has improved tremendously,” Schwartz said. “I look at her and I think, ‘Wow, she’s gone from high 80s to low and mid 70s consistently.’ She just does the things you ask her to do.”
Another much-improved player is Poland graduate Allison Mitzel, a sophomore.
“Everybody is expecting her to do well because she’s very focused and puts in a lot of hard work,” Schwartz said.
Recently at the Robert Morris Invitational, Mitzel and Heimlich tied for ninth place overall, shooting scores of 164. But the top finisher for YSU was freshman Emily Rohanna with a score of 163.
Rohanna is Schwartz’s granddaughter.
“It’s been fun for me because I’ve watched her play golf since she was a young teenager,” Schwartz said. “She’s been keeping it between 78-80 most of the time. That’s about what I need from her and I know she’s going to improve because she’s got a lot of athletic ability and drive.”
Although they are members of the Horizon League, the Penguins competed in the MAC Women’s Invitational Monday and Tuesday in Nashport.
The Penguins carded a solid 308 on Tuesday, which was the fourth-lowest round for the tournament. YSU shot a team score of 347 on Monday in extremely windy conditions.