Oklahoma State University Athletics
Spotlight on Cowgirl Golf
November 02, 2010 | Cowgirl Golf
Nov. 2, 2010
By Ryan Cameron
OSU Media Relations
The 2010-11 season greeted Cowgirl head coach Annie Young with the greatest challenge of her young coaching career — finding a way to replace Caroline Hedwall.
Young began her third season with filling the void left by the talented Swede's departure ranking as priority No. 1. As a sophomore, Hedwall recorded a season that can be summed up in one word — dominant. The most decorated player in Cowgirl history, Hedwall won five times, including the NCAA individual title, en route to earning the NGCA National Player of the Year, the Honda Sports Award and the Golfstat Cup.
Despite a young roster with no seniors and just one junior, the Cowgirls do return an experienced group of sophomores that were pressed into duty a year ago and helped produce a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season.
With Hedwall opting to take her game to the professional level, the reins to the Cowgirl squad were put in the capable hands of sophomore Victoria Park. The Irvine, Calif., native started to come into her own down the stretch of her freshman season and earned honorable mention All-America status.
Park is one of three returning sophomores, all of which played in the conference, regional and national tournaments last year, that were thrown into the fire quickly. The trio will be better in 2010-11 because of it.
Eyglo Oskarsdottir entered the lineup for the Cowgirls for the spring semester and started in each of the squad's eight events.
As a freshman, Hillary Wood was one of three players to compete in all 12 events during the year. The Sugar Land, Texas native showed marked improvement throughout the course of the season and was a steady performer at the national tournament for the Cowgirls.
Four newcomers join the mix in 2010-11 with Jocelyn Alford stepping in and serving as the squad's lone upperclassman. A junior transfer from Canada, she brings with her a championship pedigree. Alford earned All-America status as a sophomore while guiding the University of British Columbia to the NAIA national championship.
A native of Topeka, Kansas, Lauren Falley enjoyed a successful prep career that saw her claim the state's individual crown in 2008 and help her squad to state titles in 2008 and 2009.
For years, the OSU program has been the beneficiary of a strong Swedish pipeline. The likes of Maria Boden, Linda Wessberg and, most recently, Karin Sjodin, Pernilla Lindberg and Hedwall, all made their way stateside and had a significant impact on the program. Freshman Josephine Janson, a native of Halmstad, will look to add her name to the school's list of Swedish All-Americans.
Young did not have to go far to find the third freshman member of her incoming class.
Oklahoma City native Jade Staggs made the short trip up I-35 to join the program after a standout prep career. An all-state performer for Westmoore High School, Staggs possesses raw ability and will only improve with tournament experience.
With the fall slate underway, Young's crew already has its first victory of the season under its belt. In early October, the Cowgirls won the Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbia, Mo., to earn their first victory since claiming the 2009 Big 12 title. Leading the way was Park, who picked up her first win as a collegian after matching the school record with a final-round 65.
Young's crew hopes their most recent triumph sends a message to its conference counterparts. OSU cruised past runners-up and conference rivals Oklahoma and Colorado by 15 shots at The Club at Old Hawthorne, which just happens to be the host course for the 2011 Big 12 Championship.
Players Mentioned
