Just Six Years Old, Virginia Women's Golf Team a Power

Nearly nine years ago, a Bethesda real estate investor, William C. Eacho Jr., pledged $1.4 million to his alma mater, the University of Virginia, to start a women's golf program. Three years later, the Cavaliers fielded their first team. In the six years since, Virginia has become one of the top programs in the country.

Virginia is making its third appearance in the 24-team NCAA championship, which begins today at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. The Cavaliers, who were the No. 1 seed entering the East regional, are ranked No. 3 by Golfstat.

"It's been so exciting to see how this program has grown just in the short amount of time that it's been around," said junior Whitney Neuhauser, who has been with the program for half of its existence.

How Virginia went from nothing to contending for a national title in less than a decade has as much to say about the school's commitment to the sport as it does about college women's golf.

"It's a little bit surprising they weren't better quicker," Golfweek college golf analyst Lance Ringler said.

Ringler explained that many schools become good quickly in women's golf. Because a team can bring in six very good golfers all at once to start a program, it isn't unusual to see a team advance to the NCAA championship within a few years of its debut. Tennessee-Chattanooga went in its second season, UC-Davis in its third.

Few teams, however, are able to sustain that excellence. That's what distinguishes Virginia.

"That they've risen to where they are at this point kind of shows the stability and consistency of the program," Ringler said. "The one thing you can say about Virginia: They haven't been a one-hit wonder. They're digging their roots into the soil. They're a solid top 25 program."

It certainly helps that Virginia competes in the ACC, one of stronger conferences for women's golf. Duke has been the league's standard-bearer, winning five national titles. Nearly half of the nine schools that compete in women's golf in the ACC are going to the NCAA championship, matched only by the Southeastern Conference, which is also sending four teams.

"The ACC gets better and stronger and better and stronger each year," said Virginia's second-year coach Kim Lewellen, who was the ACC coach of the year in her first season. "Duke University won so many national championships; they set this precedent. Well, you know we've got to beat Duke if we want to be the top of the ACC. Every school met that challenge. . . . It's just helped build the ACC to a conference that now anyone can win here or at the next level."

At Caves Valley this week, Virginia will look to improve on its 12th-place showing from last season. The Cavaliers placed third at the Fall Preview, an invitational tournament held this past September at Caves Valley for the top finishers from last year's NCAA championship. Arizona State won the event by eight strokes.

Neuhauser, who grew up near Charlottesville, leads the team with a 72.93 stroke average. Golf World selected her the most improved women's player at midseason after she dropped nearly five strokes off her average. Sophomore Calle Nielson was the medalist at the LSU Golf Classic in March and is a two-time all-ACC selection. Lewellen calls sophomore Joy Kim her "gamer." Kim birdied five of her last nine holes at regionals this month to help the Cavaliers advance to the NCAA championship.

The Cavaliers will go to Caves Valley with the same lineup they had at regionals, which means that senior Jenny Arseneault, a two-time all-ACC selection, will not play. Arseneault, who was Virginia's top finisher at the Fall Preview, has struggled with her game recently. She failed to break 80 in the final two rounds of the ACC tournament and hasn't been able to get back on track.

Without Arseneault, it will be difficult for Virginia to knock off the favorite, Arizona State.

"These girls play day in and day out with each other so they know that whoever goes in those top five spots can perform very well," Lewellen said. "We're fortunate, to be honest with you; we're extremely deep."

Regardless of how Virginia performs this week, the Cavaliers are showing they will be a contender long into the future.

"When I first came in, you could shoot in the high 70s and go play in a tournament," fifth-year senior Kristen Simpson said. "Now you have to shoot even par to even be considered to play in a tournament. It went from my first couple years, 'Oh, let's make it to the NCAAs,' to now we're going to win. I think that's kind of cool."