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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Eager to Continue Momemtum in 2016
11/6/2015 | Women's Golf
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's golf team is preparing for the offseason, after wrapping up their fall tournaments in October. The group is already looking forward to teeing off in February after a much improved fall season.
After improving their fall scores significantly from a year ago, the Rebels are going into the holiday season with more confidence than ever. Head Coach Kory Henkes is pleased with where her team is one semester into her first season.
"I think we had a great fall season," Henkes said. "It was successful. We had two second place finishes, a fourth and a ninth and looking at the girls averages compared to last year they've all dropped significantly."
One scoring average that is much better is senior Abby Newton (Katy, Texas) who sports a 72.67 average through four tournaments with three top-10 finishes. She finished with a 77.72 average in 2014-15.
It's the senior leadership that comes up more often than not in conversation with Henkes. Alison Hovatter (Merdianville, Ala.), Katie Voll (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Abby Newton (Katy, Texas) are all gearing up for their final few months at Ole Miss, and the coaching staff will be looking to them to continue anchoring the team.
"It's good to have our seniors really step up," Henkes added. "I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do their final semester in the spring."
Another much improved player is junior Madisen Bentley (University Place, Wash.) who has improved her scoring average to 74.50 this fall. Her top finish came at the CSU Fall Invitational where she placed third after firing a 74-68-69-211.
During that tournament, the team posted a program-best 278 in the second round, while Newton tied the best round in school history after her 7-under par 65. Henkes says there's not just one thing leading to the improvement.
"It's a combination of a few things," Henkes said. "A lot of it's attitude, and Drew (Belt) and I spend a lot of time with them on the course during tournaments and I think they like us walking with them throughout the day. Golf is 99% attitude a lot of times; just knowing you can do it and believing in yourself."
The Rebels next hit the course Feb. 22 when they head to The Gold Rush tournament hosted by Long Beach State University. Also highlighting the spring slate is a trip to Baton Rouge for the LSU Tiger Golf Classic March 20 and the 2016 Rebel Intercollegiate at the Ole Miss Golf Course April 1-3.
For all Ole Miss women's golf news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf and Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf. Fans can also follow head coach Kory Henkes on Twitter at @KoryThompson1.
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