43
YSU golf expecting big things from women’s golf in 2017
By Greg Gulas
BEAVER TOWNSHIP
The spring portion of Youngstown State University’s women’s golf season gets underway Feb. 20, when they travel to Sorrento, Florida for a tri-match with Horizon League foes Cleveland State and defending conference champ Oakland University.
It’s a match head coach Nate Miklos is looking forward because he considers both teams to be two of the very best in the conference.
While speaking to the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly session at Avion Banquet Center, the fourth-year head coach said he believes he has a team that can make a run at the title. The Penguins last won in 2015 when they also advanced to the program’s first ever NCAA Regional.
“The goal in the fall was to get better every round we played and just keep improving,” Miklos said. “We played in four invitationals with Oakland and they are the defending league champions, but I’m happy with our progress.”
Their fall schedule included two runner-up and third-place finishes, as well as a fourth-place finish in five scheduled starts.
Miklos said the fall helped his players stay mentally focused, also working on course management and just maintaining what they can control.
To prepare for their upcoming spring opener, the team spent last weekend in Huntersville, North Carolina — right outside Charlotte — where they played 36 practice holes at the Birkdale Golf Club.
“In the WATTS, we have what I believe is the best indoor practice facility in the league. That being said, there’s no substitute for being outside on the course and last weekend was a big help in getting ready for the spring,” Miklos said.
Miklos, whose eight-member squad posted a 3.68 overall grade point average last fall, also owns the top cumulative grade point average of all Penguin varsity teams with a 3.60.
His recruiting base begins at home.
“My recruiting philosophy is very simple in that I start locally and regionally before looking elsewhere. Ohio has a ton of talented golfers a coach can choose from when hitting the recruiting trail,” Miklos said.
Seven of the eight golfers that dot this year’s roster hail from Ohio with the other from Level Green, Pennsylvania, right outside Pittsburgh.
The team is relatively young however, Miklos will look to two seniors for much needed leadership.
Those seniors include Mia Barchetti (80.7 average for 18 holes) and Haleigh Guerrero (85.1) with lone junior Courtney Shutt (78.6)
“Mia is one of the best leaders that I have ever coached. She has an incredible attitude, tremendous work ethic and I’d take eight of her any day,” Miklos said. “She’s president of our student athletic advisory council, so that tells you about her leadership ability. Haleigh also has a tremendous attitude and work ethic as well. Courtney was my first ever recruit, earned second-team all-conference honors last year and had a great fall. We’re looking for greater things from in the spring and beyond.”
Two freshmen, Reva Morris (75.7) and Katlyn Shutt (78.8), Courtney’s younger sister, played well in the fall with Morris currently sporting the Horizon League’s lowest average.
The three sophomores are Christina Cooper (80.2), Megan Creager (81.0) and Gabby Minor, who will red-shirt this season after earning Horizon League “Freshman of the Year” laurels a season ago.
Miklos said the goal this year is very simple.
“We want to become the dominant team in the Horizon League,” he said. “We have a great group of players, expect to have a great spring and will be ready for the league championship in late April.”