St. John's University Athletics
Season Preview: Women's Golf Opens Season at Towson Invitational
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
2014-15 Final Results & Stroke Averages
2014 Towson Invitational Results
Follow St. John's women's golf on Twitter
QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 12, 2015) -- The St. John's women's golf team opens the 2015-16 season Sunday morning when the Red Storm travels to Maryland for the Towson Invitational at the Towson Golf & Country Club.
About The Team
Returning three players from last season's squad and welcoming a talented duo of freshmen, head coach Ambry Bishop has the team's sight set on opening the season strong after claiming a fourth place finish a year ago.
"We have a lot of new players heading into the start of the season so we have been really focused on working together as a team and achieving everything as one," head coach Amrby Bishop said. "This is something you always strive for each year, but more focus has been put into it at the start of this season since this is the first time most of these players have competed together in tournaments."
Senior Anna Kim followed up an outstanding inaugural season with the Red Storm by improving her average by almost three strokes from 77.15 to 74.83. The First Team All-BIG EAST selection posted eight top-10 finishes, including her first career-individual title at the Lady Hoya Invitational. She wrapped up the year with a seventh place performance at the BIG EAST Championship.
"Anna Kim comes back with the most experience," Bishop added. "She has always been a great leader on the course, but she has really stepped up at the start of this season and been a great mentor and teammate to all of our players. I look for Anna to continue her great success on the course and lead the team as the lone senior."
Bringing experience to the bunch is Saskia Sterud and Lindsia Oliva. Sterud is a junior from Oslo, Norway who competed in three events last season and averaged an 80.13-round score. She registered back-to-back top-20 finishes to close out 2015, highlighted by a 19th place showing at the conference championship. Oliva participated in two events last season following a redshirt season as a freshman.
"Saskia and Lindsey competed one semester for us last spring," Bishop said. "They will bring their knowledge from last spring and continue to be big assets on and off the golf course."
Bishop beefed up the roster by adding freshmen Kirsty Beckwith and Lydia Kim.
Beckwith comes to St. John's from Leeds, England where she represented her home country at the U18 Nations Cup in 2014. Last year, she won a trio of titles highlighted by the Alwoodley Ladies Scratch Championship and the Rose Tomlinson Trophy Championship. In 2012, Beckwith received the Abraham Trophy, given to England's most improved girls golfer (U18) as well as the Golf Monthly/Odyssey's Britain's Best Putter award.
A four-year letter winner at Mead High School in Spokane, Wash., Lydia Kim excelled throughout her high school career earning a spot on the First Team All-Greater Spokane League for four-straight seasons.
"Kirsty and Lydia ate both great kids and very hard workers," Bishop added. "I have been very impressed with their work ethic and enthusiasm at practice. They both have the ability to have great success on the golf course and make an impact to our team success this year."
Saturday's lineup features Anna Kim at the top spot, followed by Sterud, Beckwith, Lydia Kim and Lindsey Oliva. At the 2014 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Ryan Moore Junior Championship, Kim carded a total score of 226 to place seventh.
This weekend marks the first of five events for St. John's who will play two rounds on Sunday before finishing up the final 18 holes Monday morning.
For all the latest news on the St. John's women's golf team, log on to RedStormSports.com and follow the team (@StJohnsWGolf) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with the hashtag, #SJUWG. If you would like to be added to the St. John's Women's Golf mailing list, send an email to stjcommunications@stjohns.edu with the subject line "Women's Golf Mailing List."
Players Mentioned
