Senior Samantha Widmer, junior Danielle Mills and sophomore Kelsey Johnson may all be studying abroad for Winter Term, but by the time the women’s golf season gets going the three will be back to join the rest of the team.

But even with the hiatus, the team shouldn’t have any problem picking up where they left off in the fall.

“Because we had such a successful fall, it’s going to set the bar for the spring,” junior Frederique Bruell said. “Spring is all about winning conference.”

For a team that finished in the top three in three separate tournaments, including a first place finish at the Elon Invitational, success at the conference level and against Southern Conference opponents is the main focus.

“We are capable of winning tournaments and we still believe ourselves that we can win conference,” Bruell said.

Along with Bruell, junior Taylor Johnson is second of the top five that remained at Elon during Winter Term.

“There’s that little uncertainty about how they are going to perform when they get back,” Johnson said. “But the ones we have abroad are strong players and I don’t think they’ll have any problem bouncing back.”

Johnson went abroad last Winter Term so she knows first hand what it is like to come back after a break and how to come back from a month off.

“Basically just keeping focused about conference in April and building towards that,” Johnson said. “It requires a lot of focus and dedication.”

Johnson may have had the most successful fall, as she capped her season with a 14th place finish at the Ross Resorts Invitational in late October. While some people may consider golf an individual game, in order to accomplish Bruell’s and the team’s goal of conference success, it will require a group effort. And this is where familiarity plays a huge role.

“We know what each other is capable of,” Bruell said. “We know what to expect from each other and we can be there to support each other as well.”

Not only does the familiarity play a huge role in support of each other, but like all other athletes, golfers can be competitive as well.

“We tend to know each other very well and we pretty much know what we are all going to come in with,” Johnson said. “But at the same time it gives a good sense of competitiveness. And that allows us to drive it home at tournaments and do our best.”

To go along with the time abroad that more than half the team has taken, those left on campus have had to battle through cold and snow that golfers don’t usually face. But even with a lack of practice time, the women don’t foresee it as a problem.

“We are a fairly athletic team so it won’t take as long for us to get back into practicing and competition mode,” Bruell said. “The fact that we are in pretty good physical shape and the fact that everyone on the team has been playing golf for more than half their life, it gives us an advantage.”

Sports Editor: Justin Hite - 01/23/07