After concluding the fall season with two team wins and three individual champions, CSUN women’s golf head coach Michelle Winkler has set her program up for success in the spring.
The team had sophomore Nicole Tanoue finish as individual champion for the first time this season as she shot a 1-over 73 to lead the CSUN to a 306-317 victory over Cal State Bakersfield.
This would give the team their third victory overall after the program clinched back-to-back tournament victories earlier in the season.
With the Matadors finishing their fall season on Wednesday with a dual match victory at the Sandpiper Golf Club, Winkler spoke on the determination of her players and how her program has turned the page.
“Proud is probably the biggest understatement. This team has worked so incredibly hard this summer and fall,” Winkler said. “And to just top it off with not one win, two wins, but three, it’s just a coach’s dream.”
But Winkler did note that the road to a successful fall hasn’t been so easy and green. She went on to say the weather the past week posed a challenge but the difficulties her team faced didn’t phase her players.
“This course was really challenging in the sense that although it wasn’t windy, although the course wasn’t necessarily playing particularly long around the greens, the course was a true test of one’s game.” Winkler added.
And a true test it was, Tanoue overcame the challenges of the course and was able to come out on top, a true testament of her skill especially when she hasn’t had a positive start to the season.
Winkler noted that after having a great year last season where she broke personal and team records, Tanoue struggled to begin this season but didn’t find her footing until the team traveled to Pennsylvania for the Lehigh Invitational.
“There was a lot of expectation on her shoulders coming into this year. And so I think one of the big things that we worked on together was just breaking some barriers in her own game,” Winkler said. “So for her to shoot a 73 on this golf course with just really treacherous greens, I think is her finally starting to not only believe in herself, but know that all the work she put into it panned out.”
With the success of Tanoue, Winkler believes she has a set of players she can really count on who can help bring the program forward. One of those players, rising star freshman Ariya Soldwisch.
Soldwisch claimed victory as the individual champion at the Eagle Invitational earlier in the year when she tied for first at 6-under 138. Winkler voiced how the program benefited from having her talents as she was highly recruited coming out of highschool.
“She was looked at by so many top, not top 100 schools, the top 50 schools. So for her to choose us, and at that time, we weren’t linked as well as we are now for her, it was really a big testament to her trust and what we’re trying to do in this program.” Winkler said.
Winkler went on to describe how by having Soldwisch talents she plays much more than just a freshman out of highschool but of a professional when she’s on the green.
“The way that she plays golf is of a professional grade. The way that she attacks certain pins, and the way she just plays so aggressively, but not recklessly,” Winkler finished with. “She just plays golf the way that I envision everyone playing.”
With many top young talents entering the program, Winkler has the team set up for success going into the spring season. Not only will her team be carrying three team wins to the next portion of the season but also with a chance to look at the big prize. A conference title.
“Like any other team, any other program that’s breaking barriers, we’re always pushing for more,” Winkler said. “I’ve got a full roster that’s totally capable of coming out and just breaking more records in the spring. They understand that everything that we do, every tournament that we play in, is literally championships.
The team looks to return to the green next year in the spring as the program prepares for the Soboba Classic on Feb. 8 in San Jacinto, California.
