Girls? golf focused on this year

When a team gets on a roll, they try to keep everything the same.

Come June 1, the Washington girls? golf team is hoping to match the result that had them sitting on top of the state in 2015.

?Our goal is to do the same exact thing,? Washington senior Brenna Burlingame said. ?It sank in last year when we got home and got to the clubhouse, and now it doesn?t even seem possible that it was a year ago.?

The Demons claimed the state team title last year, and with four varsity returners, would be an easy favorite to point at for another title, mirroring the back-to-back titles Washington claimed in 2007 and 2008.

With another state title in their dreams, the Demons, and their returning individual state champion, sophomore Sarah Nacos, are working extra hard to make it a reality in two months.

?Everyone is working as hard as we can,? Nacos said. ?We obviously want to go back and try and repeat, so everyone is putting in double the amount of work and putting in a round or two after practice.?

However, while the team wants to repeat, Washington girls? coach Leonard Kull is focused on one thing: the process.

?After today, we aren?t going to talk about the state tournament anymore,? Kull said. ?That was last year. We are going to talk about how they did it, what they did to accomplish it and what we are going to do to duplicate it. Certainly we have a lot of potential and good experience coming back. It?s going to be a long haul for the next 2 1/2 months.?

Returners

Many eyes will be focused on Nacos this season, and as the returning state champion, it makes sense.

With one title under her belt, Nacos is looking to keep building and Kull noted that her work ethic has kept her going.

?Her work ethic is amazing,? Kull said. ?She?s walking around and works so hard. Simply by acting like a leader, that?s going to make everyone else understand what you have to do to be successful at this game. I let her show the other girls how she does it, and hopefully they take pointers from her and they can incorporate it into their game. She has a tremendous pedigree.?

She is one of two returning All-State performers from last year, joining senior Deanna Peiffer, who took eighth as an individual in the state meet last year.

Peiffer, who is signed on to play collegiate golf at William Penn, said she is looking to keep improving her game this year, and hopefully can move up in the final standings at the state meet.

?Ideally, the position I would like would be No. 1, but I?m just looking to improve,? Peiffer said. ?I don?t have a certain number and I?m looking to compete. Any improvement, even if my numbers don?t show it, knowing I?m playing better golf is what I?m looking for.?

Peiffer and the rest of the Demons all noted that they are focused on their short game for improvement this year. Burlingame, who was routinely the fourth scorer for Washington last year, said the putting green is an easy place to spend a lot of time.

?My biggest goal is to get out to the putting green,? Burlingame said. ?You can go out there in pretty much any weather and it?s not going to affect you too much.?

Burlingame and Peiffer will be the two seniors on the squad, matching the number of seniors on the 2015 squad, Sarah Waite and Meredith Lumberg. As they enter a new season, Kull noted that their roles will take on different looks.

?Sarah and Meredith were great teammates and a big part of our success. We?ll have to work hard to replace those two. I sure like the people we have here, though.

?Brenna is my go-to person. She has all their numbers and texts them to make sure they are all in the same place and lets people know about changes in plans. The big thing for Deanna is that she isn?t done after this. She has a whole career to look to, which is super. She seems to be looking forward to that.?

Sophomore Megan Strabala was routinely on the cusp of providing the fourth score for the Demons last year, and as one of the four varsity returners, is hoping to make a big impact for her squad this year.

?I?ve been taking lessons during the winter and doing my best to get my score up,? Strabala said. ?I want to do my best to prove I?m worthy of that position, so I guess there?s a little more pressure.?

After making the state meet as a freshman last year, Strabala said she has seen an improvement in her confidence and she thinks it will carry over to the early part of the season. However, her coach knows she might be putting extra pressure on herself.

?Megan is probably going to put some more pressure on herself, because she?s the next person up,? Kull said. ?She?ll have to get pretty strong, pretty fast to mentally understand the difference from last year.?

Joining the squad

The Demons will have two newcomers to the team looking to make an impact on the varsity score, with Allison Vogel and Carly Burlingame joining the squad this season.

Vogel, a sophomore, said she is moving over from track a season ago, and joining up with the team has been a great experience.

?It?s a lot of fun,? Vogel said. ?They are all fun to be around and coach has helped us out a lot. (The most exciting thing) for me is the first meet. I?ve played in a group tournament once, but not an individual, so it?s kind of exciting.?

Carly Burlingame is the younger sister of Brenna, and as a freshman, is planning on taking the game one step at a time.

?I?m kind of nervous,? Carly said. ?I feel like I?ll have to step it up a little bit. My sister has been helping me a lot, and during practice this week we?ve been working on our swings. If I do anything bad, they help me fix it.?

For the newcomers, Kull is just wanting them to enjoy the year, and make sure they keep a strong attitude to the game of golf.

?I?m expecting Allison and Carly to learn and enjoy the game of golf,? Kull said. ?I?m not going to expect too much out of them, because I just want them to enjoy themselves and learn something every day, and once that happens, they?ll be contributing and we?ll be fine.?

Focused on improvement

While golf is an individual sport on the course, Kull?s focus is making sure his Demons don?t forget the team aspect of the game.

?The key in my mind is that we are a team and the team comes first,? Kull said. ?All last year, we emphasized being a good team member and doing their part. Everybody had their roles and we went from there. We won?t put too much pressure on them.?

While a state title and many returners to the squad can put lofty expectations on a season, Kull noted that there will be a number of tough teams across the state of Iowa all shooting for the same goal, and a lot will be gunning for knocking off the Demons.

With that in mind, Kull?s focus is on what his team is able to do every day.

?They haven?t heard me say, ?we need to go out and win,?? Kull said. ?It?s always, ?let?s do the best we can today.? If that?s good enough, that?s great, and if it?s not, we need to go out and get better.?

Washington will open its golf season on April 7 at Keokuk.