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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Newcomers Make Instant Impact on Rebel Women's Golf Program
11/10/2016 | Women's Golf
The Ole Miss women's golf program is finalizing its 2017 recruiting class this week, and if these new Rebels can replicate the magic of the team's most recent batch of newcomers, head coach Kory Henkes' group could be a force on the national scene.
Both on the course and off, Ole Miss received some incredible contributions this fall from its two newbies, junior Katy Harris, a transfer from Mercer, and freshman Pi-Lillebi Hermansson. In addition to being two of just three Rebels to play all four fall tournaments, Harris and Hermansson helped to transform the culture of the program in Henkes' second season.
"They've made a huge difference. It's honestly just their competitiveness," Henkes said. "That's something that, when you bring that to a team, it makes everyone more competitive. Both of those girls are two of the most competitive people I've ever met, so it's been a huge help and it's really pushed everyone else to get better."
Harris brought a resume featuring two collegiate wins when she transferred to Ole Miss last spring. She sat out the spring season and was ready to go for fall, but after nearly a year off of collegiate competition, she took a few matches to settle back into her winning ways.
The first few competitions brought some ups and some downs for Harris, but she continued to progress. Her potential was on display as she shot 71 in the opening round of the fall's third event in Denver, Colo. Then, in the fourth tournament, she put it all together. Harris went toe-to-toe with Golfweek's No. 29 player in the nation, Coastal Carolina junior Malene Krolboll Hansen, and came out on top.
The St. Simons Island, Georgia native fired 3-under par (69) in the final round to capture her third career victory and become the first individual champion for Henkes at Ole Miss.
"That's her third win in college, and anytime you have someone who can win on a team, it's huge," Henkes said. "It's hard to win a golf tournament and that pushes her teammates to want to get right there with her."
Hermansson has been right there with Harris this season. She started her career off with a top-20 finish, shooting a 217 through three rounds to lead the Rebels to a 10th-place finish to start the 2016-17 campaign. After a rough outing at Furman's Lady Paladin Invitational, the freshman from Djursholm, Sweden, regained her form, shooting 219 to finish 24th in Denver before capping the fall with a 223 and another top-20 finish.
This all came while Hermansson was overcoming the language barrier and a cultural barrier as an international student-athlete-not to mention significant swing alterations. This winter break, the uber-motivated freshman will head home to Sweden and continue working on the changes to her stroke, and Henkes has high hopes for her when the Rebels pick back up this spring.
"For freshman year, Pi is doing awesome," Henkes said. "I know she's disappointed with how she's played, but she's making some swing changes right now and I think the best is yet to come for her. The spring is going to be a total different ballgame for her."
Hermansson has enormous potential and could be right there, fighting with Harris for tournament wins, but she might not be the only one. Five Rebels have finished in the top 20 this season, and that list doesn't even include junior Laura Hoskin, who holds the team's second-lowest single-round average (74.17) behind Harris (73.5).
Seniors Maria Toennessen and Madisen Bentley claim the Rebels' second and third-best individual finishes, respectively. Toennessen tied for 12th in Denver, while Bentley finished 15th at the Lady Paladin and both have the potential to win a tournament. Sophomore Martina Flori added her name to the mix with two strong performances to close the fall, including her second career top-20 finish in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
With a deep and competitive roster, Henkes is excited to see just how much noise her group can make this spring.
"I feel like any of our players can win a tournament," Henkes said. "Golf's a funny game where you never know whose week it's going to be. That's the exciting part. Any of our players can go out and win. We just have to keep working hard."
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.
Players Mentioned
