University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Erika Brennan Women's Golf Era Starts This Sunday
9/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss women's golf team begins its fall tournament season, Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Chris Banister Golf Classic in Glencoe, Ala. Under a new coach, they will focus on commitments and playing the best golf every time the Golden Eagles tee up against their opponents.
The new coach is Erika Brennan who joined the program last spring after spending five years as the head coach at Saint Leo, building that program into one of the premier Division II programs in the country.
"I'm ready to get the season underway; excited may be an understatement. The squad has worked so hard in building the type of team culture that will allow us to play our best golf day-in and day-out," Brennan said. "I love that they've focused on that, and the scores in qualifying have been a direct by product of the unrelenting work ethic to improve this program."
When it comes to athletics, there are expectations for every season. Coach Brennan, though, has brought the idea of commitments rather than that of expectations for this season.
"Expectations are a slippery slope in this game," Brennan said. "Set them too high and the pressure becomes overwhelming, which leads to poor performance. So we don't have any expectations, what we have are commitments that we are focused on for this first event. If we stay committed to the things that we have control over, then we'll play well. The momentum and competitiveness from six great rounds of qualifying is on our side. I know the girls are eager to get out there and compete. We can't wait to dig in. "
One thing is for sure, both the coach and players are excited for this season which includes five returners and three newcomers.
"I'm so excited about our team this season," said junior Devon Spriddle. "Our lineup is very solid and I feel that we have a lot more depth than we've had in previous years. We've put in a ton of work this past month, and we're all anxious to get out there and tee it up for the Black and Gold."
Along with Spriddle, the other Golden Eagles returning are seniors Mackenzie Kelly (Magee, Miss.) and Jennifer Nguyen (Slidell, La.), junior Emily Ross (Diamondhead, Miss.) and sophomore Belen Abrile (Cordoba, Argentina). The newcomers on the roster include junior Kelly Erasmus (Capetown, South Africa), who played at Lamar the last two years, and freshmen Valentina Haupt (Weston, Fla.) and Miranda Holt (Pensacola, Fla.).
As this group of Golden Eagles continue to progress during their season, the focus on their commitments during each and every tournament will stay prevalent in their path to success not only this fall, but also into the spring.
"We talk a lot about commitments and staying committed to the things we can control," said Brennan. "When we get that part right, the results take care of themselves. Make no mistake, we aren't soft, we will play courageous golf this season, but we will go about it in an unconventional way."
For Brennan, though, those commitments start with preparation for each tournament during the 2015-16 campaign.
"Our focus in on preparing in the best possible way for each event and that means a lot of individualized practice plans and mental prep," Brennan said. "We've got a few things going that I believe will give us a nice edge when we tee it up. "
The Golden Eagles tee off at Silver Lakes Golf Club in Glencoe, Ala., in the 54-hole event which concludes on Tuesday. To keep up with the Golden Eagles' golf team this season, and to see the roster and stats, visit www.southermiss.com.
