St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Women's Golf 2009 Fall Season Preview
9/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 17, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - With six returning letterwinners and one redshirt freshman, the 2009-10 St. John's women's golf team opens its fall season poised to have a successful year.
"We're excited for the start of the season," said sixth-year head coach Ambry Bishop-LaRosa. "We hope to have a successful season and I look for strong play from our seniors and underclassmen. Hopefully we will be one of the top teams not only in this area but in women's golf."
St. John's will play in four fall tournaments starting with the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, N.J, on Sept. 18-19.
The Red Storm then heads to Manhattan, Kan., to compete in the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational hosted by Kansas from Sept. 28-29 at Colbert Hills Golf Course. The team heads back east for its second New Jersey tournament when it tees off for the Rutgers Invitational, which runs Oct. 9-10 at Rutgers Golf Course in Piscataway, N.J.
STJ closes out its fall slate with the Sacred Heart Invitational on Oct. 18-19 at Great River Golf Club in Milford, Conn.
The 2009-10 St. John's women's golf team consists of seniors Renee Cloutier, Lois Kim, Michele Romano, Ashley Szewczuk and Samantha Tejada, sophomore Ellen Oswald, and redshirt freshman Mariana Barrios.
Cloutier was named to the first-ever All-BIG EAST Women's Golf Team last season after she led the Red Storm with a 77.84 round average. She also earned 2009 St. John's Female Student-Athlete of the Year and 2009 NGCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors. Cloutier received 2009 All-BIG EAST Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award. Her best performance on the course came in the 2008 Princeton Invitational (Sept. 20-21) where she shot a 71-76-147 (+3) to force a championship playoff before taking second place after the extra holes. After posting six top-25 finishes last season, including three top-10 showings, Cloutier looks to wrap up her St. John's career with another stellar year.
Kim was second on the Red Storm with an 80 round average in 19 rounds of play. Her best tournament performance came in the North/South Women's Collegiate (March 9-10) where she tied for third place with a 73-77-150 (+10). She totaled six top-25 finishes last season, including a 16th-place showing at the BIG EAST Championship (April 19-21) in Dade City, Fla. Kim is eyeing another strong year to cap off her impressive St. John's career. She is coming off of a successful summer when she won the 2009 Long Island Women's Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Bethpage Red.
After finishing 2008-09 with five top-25 showings, including a pair of top-10s, Romano looks to build upon an impressive junior year. Ranking third on the team with an 82.58 round average, she posted her best performance at the ECAC Division I Women's Championship (Oct. 4-5) where she shot 72-75-147 (+3) to take third place.
Szewczuk played in two tournaments last season and had an 82.75 average through four rounds. She has lowered her round average in each of her three seasons at St. John's and looks to continue that trend this year with a strong senior campaign.
At last year's Hoya Women's Invitational (March 30-31), Tejada posted the second-lowest round of her Red Storm career with a third-round 75. She finished the season with three top-30 showings, including a tie for 22nd place at the ECAC Division I Women's Championship. Like her fellow seniors, Tejada looks to round out her St. John's career on top.
As the lone true freshman on last year's squad, Oswald made a big splash in her first season at St. John's. She played in all 19 rounds and tied for 16th place at the ECAC Division I Women's Championship with a 79-78-157 (+13). The performance marked her first collegiate tournament scoring all rounds in the 70s. Oswald looks to continue being a big contributor this year and represents the future for St. John's women's golf.
After redshirting 2008-09, Barrios is ready to make a big impact on the course this year. Hailing from Bogatá, Columbia, she boasts an impressive junior golf resume. In 2006, Barrios won Columbia's National Junior Championship and followed that feat by capturing the 2007 Florida Junior Tour Championship. She brings a wealth of international golf experience to the team, having represented Columbia in tournaments in England, Argentina and Chile.
For the most up-to-date scores, schedules and recaps, please visit www.RedStormSports.com. To be added to the Red Storm golf e-mail list and receive the latest in golf updates, please send your address to stephen.lee09@stjohns.edu.
Players Mentioned
