“The University of Akron women’s golf team has accomplished quite a lot in just its first two tournaments. Two top finishes and an individual victory on the road are pretty impressive for any program, let alone a program in its early stages. This week, the women’s team hosted its first tournament, the Zippy Invitational, Monday and Tuesday at Rosemont Country Club in Fairlawn.”
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The University of Akron women’s golf team has accomplished quite a lot in just its first two tournaments.
Two top finishes and an individual victory on the road are pretty impressive for any program, let alone a program in its early stages.
This week, the women’s team hosted its first tournament, the Zippy Invitational, Monday and Tuesday at Rosemont Country Club in Fairlawn. The result: another second place team finish, as well as three top ten individual performers.
The three top-ten performers were Kristen Hill, Tyler Etchberry, and Hanna Ek, who finished tied for fifth, seventh and tenth respectively.
Tyler really stepped up, UA coach Jenny King said. She really put herself in good position to compete for the individual victory.
As she’s done all season, Kristen Hill performed at a high level.
She had a tough second day, but played very steady, King said of the reigning MAC Player of the Week.
Despite the stellar individual performances, the group as a whole performed like a team that has been at it for years, not a group composed primarily of freshmen.
It feels good to finish how we did, King said. We proved we belong out there with the best in the Mid-American Conference.
The MAC as a whole had an impressive showing as four of the top five teams compete in the conference. Eastern Michigan finished in first in the tourney, with the Zips in second, followed by Ball State’s third-place finish and Ohio University’s fifth-place finish.
Fourth-place Youngstown State was the only non-MAC school in the top five.
King said that she was impressed with how composed her young players have performed, not only inthe last tournament, but all year thus far.
Emotionally, they handle the ups and downs really well, the first-year head coach said.
King says that it’s her players who have instilled this mentality themselves.
If you had a bad hole, just forget about it, King said. They challenge themselves and never give up.
The Zips will now focus their attention on the Waterlefe Invitational, which will take place in Bradenton, Florida and will be hosted by The University of South Florida.
King said the settings for this tournament are unlike any her team has seen thus far.
It’s going to be a different kind of field, King said. There are a lot of different teams, some Division-II teams, community colleges, as well as very talented Division-I teams. It will be very interesting to see how we stack up.
While it may be a new challenge, King believes her team is up for it.
With youth and raw talent on their side as well as a coach who firmly believes in her squad, there’s reason to think this team will only get better.
King seems to believe this is true as well and even acknowledged her teams’ quick transition to the collegiate level.
It’s been fun watching these young girls, King said. They’ve really matured on the golf course.

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