Lindsay Kuhle has accomplished plenty in golf in her native state of Colorado, including winning a couple of state amateur championships, the CWGA Junior Stroke Play in 2000 and the CWGA Stroke Play in 2005. And she was an assistant coach when the University of Denver finished sixth and fifth in the NCAA Championship finals, though those events were obviously held out of state.
One thing she hadn’t done, though, is win a golf tournament in Colorado as a college head coach.
But on Sunday, she checked that off the list.
Kuhle, head coach of the DU women’s team since early 2013, celebrated among friends, family and co-workers Sunday as the Pioneers claimed the team championship in the ninth annual Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate at Highlands Ranch Golf Club.
The Pios rallied from a three-shot deficit heading into the final round to post a five-stroke victory in the 18-team field. Aside from conference championships, it was DU’s first team title since the 2009 Moore Intercollegiate. That was also the last time Denver won a team title at a Colorado-based tournament.
All in all, it was a nice way to close out the fall portion of the schedule for DU and Kuhle, whose daughter, Lucy, turned 1 year old on Saturday and happily spent the weekend at Highlands Ranch GC. (Lucy is pictured at left with mom Lindsay on Sunday.)
“It means a lot,” Kuhle said. “To get a win, especially in front of all of our friends and families at our home course is so special.
“I’m so proud of the way the girls competed. We had the best energy and attitude and we were so relaxed, and I think that tells you a lot about how you play good golf. If you’re having fun, it’s so important. That’s something I preach. No matter how you’re playing to act like you’re playing well, to also have a positive attitude, and wave to your teammates to be encouraging. I think that really helped us get this win.”
The victory was the fourth for Kuhle since she took over as head coach, on the heels of a WAC title in 2013 and Summit League championships in 2014 and ’15.
On Sunday, Denver posted the low round of the day, a 2-under-par 286, as all the DU golfers who were competing for the team score shot between 70 and 73 despite windy conditions.
With a 2-under 862 total for three rounds, the Pioneers finished five ahead of San Francisco and eight in front of Washington State.
Colorado State recorded its best tournament score — 872 — since 2009 in placing fourth. Northern Colorado (893) was 11th.
Individually, DU freshman Kathi Baratta and CSU sophomore Allie Andersen shared fifth place at 1-under-par 215, seven behind champion Kassidy Teare of Long Beach State. For Andersen, it was the best college tournament score she’s recorded.
As for Baratta (pictured at top and at left with Kuhle), she’s shaping up to be a real find for Denver. Coming from the Austrian national team, she agreed in June to sign a letter of intent with DU site unseen, after being recruited by Kuhle to fill the roster spot vacated when Elyse Smidinger transferred to Oregon State. Baratta had never set foot in Colorado before coming to Denver in late August.
The Austrian couldn’t compete in the Pioneers’ first tournament because the school doesn’t allow freshmen to miss their first week of classes, but she’s certainly shown her stuff since. In her first two college tournaments, she’s finished eighth in an event at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott and fifth on Sunday. In her first month as a college golfer, she was named the Summit League Women’s Player of the Month for September.
“I came here and I really just wanted to be an asset to the team,” she said Sunday. “My target was to qualify for every tournament, then try my best to support the team. If you can earn two top-10s in your first two college tournaments, that’s a bonus. I’m personally very happy with the result.”
And seeing her team claim a championship so soon after arriving was satisfying as well.
“I’m really happy,” she said. “It was only the second tournament I played, so it’s great to actually earn a victory. The whole team played great. No one had a bad score today. It was a beautiful day to finish what we started. The motivation went from the older girls to us freshmen. We really wanted to win. We knew we could win.”
DU has one of the more diverse college rosters you’ll find. Five of the Pioneers’ seven players are from oversees. Besides Baratta (Austria), there’s fellow freshman Sophie Newlove (England), juniors Mariell Bruun (Norway) and Jessica Carty (Northern Ireland, who would have had a high individual finish Sunday had she not inadvertently signed for an incorrect score on Saturday), and sophomore Jessica Dreesbeimdieke (Namibia in southwest Africa). And then there are two Americans, senior Isabel Southard (Sharon, Mass., who was sidelined this weekend due to a back injury) and sophomore Aleana Groenhout (Kirkland, Wash).
“I’m just trying to get the best student-athlete in the world,” Kuhle said of her recruiting approach. “My assistant (Daniela Lendl, daughter of former tennis great Ivan Lendl) and I will go over to Europe, but we’re looking for someone who really cares about school and golf.”
On Sunday, Baratta finished fifth individually, while Groenhout was 12th and Newlove was 17th after a final-round 70.
“They fit right in,” Kuhle said of her freshmen, Baratta and Newlove. “We didn’t skip a beat at all in the transition from losing a couple of (players) from last year to this year.”
For her part, in choosing DU, Baratta was attracted to the surroundings and climate in Colorado, which are not so different from Austria.
“If you look around, it’s beautiful here,” she said. “I decided if I want to go to the States, them I’m not going to go somewhere it’s 365 (days-per-year) heat. I can’t handle that, so Colorado was similar to home, so that’s why I came here. It basically feels like home. It’s really great.”
And Kuhle feels fortunate to have landed such a quality player just months before the season started.
“To get someone like that, I think there is some luck in that,” Kuhle said.
Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate
Oct. 9-11, 2015 (final) at Par-72 Highlands Ranch GC
1. (out of 18 teams) Denver 282-294-286–862
5. Kathi Baratta 71-71-73–215; 12. Aleana Groenhout 74-70-72–216; 17. Sophie Newlove 73-76-70–219; 30. Mariell Bruun 72-77-73–222; Jessica Carty 66-DQ-71. Competing as individual: 37. Jessica Dreesbeimdieke 67-74-83–224.
4. Colorado State 293-290-289–872
5. Allie Andersen 70-71-74–215; 17. Elisabeth Rau 74-70-74–215; 17. Katrina Prendergast 73-73-73–219; 37. Brianna Becker 78-77-69–224; 46. Mikayla Tatman 76-76-73–225. Competing as individual: 50. Sarah Archuleta 74-77-75–226.
11. Northern Colorado 293-300-300–893
22. Amanda Myers 71-73-76–220; 32. Kala Keltz 70-73-80–223; 46. Christina Ferrreira 74-76-75–225; 74. Baile Winslow 78-78-75–231; 89. Janet Yeo 86-78-74–238.
Also
22. Jamie Oleksiew, Colorado 72-72-76–220
25. Lauryn Keating, Colorado 73-76-72–221
32. Coloradan Bryce Schroeder, Wichita State 71-76-76–223
37. Coloradan Taylor Dorans, Wyoming 77-75-72–224
37. Gillian Vance, Colorado 74-72-78–224
68. Coloradan Jaylee Tait, Montana State 78-75-77–230
82. Coloradan Kathleen Kershisnik, Wyoming 78-77-80–235
