The ASU women’s golf team has experienced plenty of turnover for the spring 2011 season.
With only two players on the roster during the fall, juniors Carlota Ciganda and Giulia Molinaro, the team will welcome six newcomers this spring season. Five of them are freshmen.
In order for a player to go to tournaments, she has to place in the top five during intra-squad qualifying. This is likely to be a tough task with all the incoming talent, but the new players appear to be ready.
Kylee Duede, USA:
Duede is the lone sophomore on the squad. She was recruited from Paradise Valley Community College in Glendale, where she was named the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference player of the year. Duede led the conference with a stroke average of 80.249.
ASU coach Melissa Luellen is excited about Duede’s skills, but said it was her attitude that showed she belonged at ASU.
“I had actually turned her down, once,” Luellen said, “Then she really showed that she wanted to be here and challenge herself.”
Duede only started playing golf her senior year in high school, but her determination and her desire to play at ASU brought her to Luellen.
“She has a great passion to improve and she wants to be in the most competitive environment she can be in,” Luellen said.
Justine Lee, Australia:
Lee, from Sydney, Australia, is one of the most accomplished female golfers in Australia. She was 17 when she won the Srixon Australian Women’s Amateur.
Lee has a 3 handicap and one of her greatest accomplishments was finishing 34th in the 2009 Australian Open, topping all other amateurs.
While Luellen was thrilled with Lee’s competitive scores and finishes in tournaments, it was her athletic skill set that impressed Luellen most.
“She has a great reputation within Australian golf,” Luellen said. “She is an outstanding athlete.”
Going from one end of the world to the other must be hard for a teenager, but Luellen had no worries about Lee.
“She’s quite independent,” Luellen said. “That’s going to be her biggest strength … her independence. I think she will do just fantastic.”
Daniela Ordonez, Colombia:
Ordonez is another international commitment, this time from Bogota, Colombia. She was the 2008 National Colombian Junior Champion and the 2009 Chilean Junior Champion.
She also finished in fifth place at the Columbian Open as an amateur and has a 1 handicap.
“She is just a super competitor and very passionate, very driven,” Luellen said.
Ordonez’s ability to do whatever she can to succeed has made Luellen believe she can produce as a Sun Devil.
“She is just absolutely so focused on getting the ball in the hole,” Luellen said. “It doesn’t always have to be pretty but she’s going to find a way.”
While Ordonez’s stroke count means a lot, Luellen also acknowledged her mental toughness and how it helps her golf game.
“If she hits a bad shot, she doesn’t get upset; she just goes and grinds it out,” Luellen said. “I think that’s a great quality that not every player has.”
Laura Blanco, Colombia:
Blanco is also from Bogota and has been playing golf since she was very young.
It has always been her dream to play golf at ASU. However, when she missed some classes at her private school her grades started to suffer and forced her to consider other college choices.
“She had to make a pretty high effort to be able to be eligible,” Luellen said.
At the age of 15, Blanco became the first international player to win the Royale Nation Junior Girl’s title in London, Ontario. She also won the 2006 Columbian Girls’ championship.
There were many different aspects that made Luellen want to bring Blanco to ASU, including her long range game and her exemplary putting ability. In fact, Luellen said that Blanco has shown the ability to improve in a short amount of time throughout her recruitment.
“She will pull people together on the team,” Luellen said.
Brittany McKee, USA:
McKee is the only incoming U.S. high school recruit this year.
She attended Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson before switching to Chandler Hamilton High School for her senior season.
McKee chose to graduate in December so she could join the golf team as soon as possible. She was the first ever U.S. high school recruit Luellen has had that graduated a semester early.
The biggest challenge for McKee will be getting comfortable in the environment at ASU, Luellen said.
“From an athletic standpoint she’s a great athlete,” Luellen said. “She is really excited to be here. We’re very excited to have her here. She has got a ton of upside. She’s really coachable.”
During her high school career, McKee won the PING Northern Arizona Junior Classic in Flagstaff. She also helped Catalina Foothills win the 4A State Team Championship in 2009.
Nicole Jones, USA
Also on the team this year is freshman Nicole Jones, who was on the team for the fall semester and competed in some individual tournaments.
Jones was a 2010 graduate from Horizon High School in Scottsdale, where she placed fourth in the state golf tournament in 2009.
She was also the 2010 Western States Golf champion.
“She will have every opportunity, as well as the newcomers, to qualify and travel,” Luellen said.
Reach the reporter at jjmckelv@asu.edu
