As Campbell University prepares for Tuesday's opening round of the 2014 NCAA women's golf championship at the Tulsa (Okla.) Country Club, GoCamels.com will profile each of the five team members traveling to the event.
Under the direction of 23rd-year head coach John Crooks, Campbell won the Big South Conference championship by 30 strokes last month. The Camels then finished eighth in the NCAA East Regional May 8-10 at SouthWood Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., to secure the program's first national tournament berth since 1997.
The freshman duo of Louise Latorre and Nadine White helped Campbell win five tournament titles during 2013-14, including the Big South Championship, and qualify for the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1997.
Louise Latorre was the Big South Conference Championship medalist (68-73-72—213), setting a new league tournament 54-hole record. The freshman from Pau, France was named to the Big South all-conference and all-freshman, as well as all-championship teams. She is ranked ninth among all Big South golfers with a 75.87 stroke average.
Latorre was named Big South freshman of the week Oct. 25 after an 11th-place finish at the Fighting Camel Fall Classic. She tied for 10th at Big South Preview and shot a collegiate-low 68 in the first round of the Big South Championship. Latorre shot 76-75-76—227 (T79) at the NCAA East Regional.
Nadine White, a native of Brisbane, Australia, carries a 76.0 stroke average, 10th-best among Big South golfers, into the NCAA Championship after shooting 74-78-77--229 (T96th) at the NCAA East Regional. The freshman finished among the top 20 individuals three times in five events after making her debut with 19th place tie Mar. 3-5 at Miami Hurricane Invitational (76-70-73--219).
She tied for 15th at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate (76-76-73--225) and tied for 13th at the Big South Championship (74-78-79--231).
On why they chose to play golf at Campbell:
Nadine: "I think the ranking of the team, their performance and videos and stuff. I watched videos of the girls and they seemed all really nice. I talked to Tahnia (Ravnjak); having another Australian on the team really attracted me to the team."
Louise: "I really liked Coach Crooks. The very first email he sent me I knew that this is where I wanted to go, the way he talked to me and everything."
On breaking into the top five as freshmen:
Nadine: "We both missed the first tournament this spring and I think that made us more motivated to get onto the team. We knew that our performances counted and we had to do our best to stay on the team."
Louise: "I think coming in here we knew we had to work hard and do our best and qualify and the other girls would be doing the same. I think the difference is everyone else knew how everyone played. We just came here and played our game."
On advancing to the national championship:
Nadine: "We were 17th seed (in the East Regional) going in so we worked hard. Everyone played well in the first round and we finished 10th after the first round. The second round we played better as a team and the third round was when we really realized we could do it. We were really motivated by (senior) Kaylin (Yost) because we really wanted it for her."
Louise: "The last five or six holes weren't our best. After that we had to wait four or five hours to find out if we had made it."
Nadine
On finishing in 13th at the Big South Championship:
"Finishing up conference I finished with the worst round I played that tournament. I was disappointed in myself and felt like I'd played better in other tournaments. Coming in 13th it just showed that the course wasn't playing as easily."
On finishing in the top 20 in three of five tournaments she played this spring:
"I just aimed to do my best. Coach has a policy that if you make the top 10 of a tournament, you automatically play in the next one. I definitely had that in mind in my first tournament, trying to do my best so I could keep on the team. But three top-20 finishes, I worked hard and I was happy with my performances."
Louise
On playing with a new putter:
"I did help me a lot. I got it the day before the last round of the tournament before conference. It changed a lot. I used to lose a lot of strokes on my putting but it's really gotten better."
On playing with an injured shoulder:
"I don't really know what happened. I was playing during the last tournament of the season. In the second round at the ninth hole I felt something that wasn't really nice and it kept getting worse. I've been seeing the trainer almost every day and the doctor every week, so I'm a lot better now."
On winning the Big South Championship:
"I was not believing it! I don't know what happened. I'm really glad it did but I'm not sure how it happened. It was the best I ever played in my whole life. The first round was the best score I'd had and that weekend everything was going well."
Nadine added, "After we finished she had us tell her to keep it together for presentations."
"I cried. A lot," Louise remembered.
Head Coach John Crooks on Louise Latorre:
"While Louise is not from the U.S., she has an entrepreneur's spirit in that she was looking for an opportunity. She wanted a chance to play golf, get better and Campbell seems to be the perfect fit for her. Louise doesn't want to be the star. She doesn't need to be the center of attention. People around her want to be with her because they know she's a very intelligent, clever, enjoyable young lady. As far as her golf is concerned, we're just starting to get a glimpse of what's possible for her. When she got here, she had some notable faults, but she's such a competitor that she was competitive with the faults. Once the faults started to improve, oh my! Two weeks before the conference tournament, she's down in Atlanta, she goes out with her putter and shoots her first round of collegiate golf under par. She tries so hard that she popped a rib out of play. Think about that, I've heard of shoulders, sockets. So about a week and a half, she spent all her time with the trainer and not practicing. I think that week really focused her because she saw her teammates practicing, getting better. She knew an important tournament was coming up, and she grabbed a hold of the opportunity at the end."
Head Coach John Crooks on Nadine White:
"My biggest challenge all year has been deciding who is in the starting lineup. Nadine is a proven champion from back home in Australia. And yes, Nadine has won her spot. One of the strengths of this team is that we have had to leave good players back home. They had to raise their game to such a high level just to qualify, and that really paid dividends. If you talk to the players, I think they would tell you that competition within the team is every bit as difficult as that they face in tournaments."
"Wouldn't I love to take credit for (Nadine's putting ability). In golf they say bad putters don't have the best attitudes and good putters do. And if you spend any time with Nadine, you'll realize she has a great attitude. She can be standing over a six-footer downhill and from the side and she'll smile. She has such a gift."
Lisbeth Brooks:
On Nadine: "Nadine claims she's shy, but she's not. She's similar to Tahnia in that she's super personable, she can strike up a conversation with anyone. She's similar to Louise in that on the golf course that whatever comes her way she'll take it one step at a time. She's very relaxed. She makes golf look very easy and very fun, which I'm very jealous of. Both of the freshmen are hilarious. We laugh so much when we're all together. They bring an energy to the team that brightens all our spirits."
On Louise: "Lu Lu is very quiet until you get to know her. Once you get to know her, she's the funniest person you will ever meet. She laughs at everything. She's very relaxed; she's chill, kind of goes with the flow. I think that's how her golf game is too, she rolls with the punches. Whatever comes her way, she can handle it no matter what. She's a fighter."
Tahnia Ravnjak:
On Nadine: "I grew up playing junior golf with Nadine. She wouldn't hurt a fly and is so caring about how you're feeling. She lifts the mood of the team."
On Louise: "I've never known someone that laughs as much as Louise does. She a great friend and is always looking out for others."
Kaylin Yost:
On Nadine: "Nadine brings so much laughter to the team. She's enthusiastic. With Nadine in the lineup this semester, the mood is just instantly happier. We're comfortable around her. She's an awesome player, works hard. Her personality brings the team together and makes up happy."
On Louise: "Louise is hard-working, very positive attitude. She was very positive even though she couldn't practice, she stayed positive. She's one of the quiet ones on the team, but has a great personality and is very supportive of everyone else."
