Leslie Leads Cats into Big Sky Championship
4/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Erica Leslie is looking forward to getting 'home' this weekend.
Leslie is not technically from Phoenix, where she and the Bobcat golf team will compete in the Big Sky Championships beginning Monday, April 18, at 7:30 am. Neither are any of her teammates. But that doesn't matter to the senior from Spokane.
"That is definitely our home course in the spring," Leslie says of the Palm Valley Golf Course, the site of not only the Big Sky meet late each spring but of the Bobcat Desert Classic at the beginning of March. "Even the freshmen know the course like the back of their hands by this time of the year, and that's where we played the best tournament we've had since I've been here."
That "best" tournament was this year's Bobcat Desert Classic, where MSU finished third out of 19 teams and shot a 912. While the team played particularly well that weekend, Leslie's tournament mirrored her senior season. She fired an 82-74-86, for an inconsistent three-round 242, her best tourney of the season but still a frustrating experience.
"This year has been really tough for me scoring-wise," Leslie said. I don't know if it's the fifth-year thing or what."
Leslie takes a shot of confidence into the Big Sky meet. Not only will she play on the course the gave up the best single round and best three-round tournament of her senior season, but she played very well last time out at Stanford.
"The past two tournaments have been about getting rid of the kinks, the mental blocks, before the conference tournament," she said. "We were just practicing for the pressure."
The last two tournaments have offered pressure. MSU finished eighth of 13 at the Fresno State Invitational, then came in 15th in a 15-team field at Stanford. That, however, was nothing like the Bobcats will face beginning Monday at the Big Sky meet.
"There's an increased amount of pressure at this tournament," Leslie said. "This is the thing we spend our whole year preparing for."
The task is not as daunting as one might think, according to Leslie. "I think we have a totally legitimate chance of winning the conference," she said. "We saw every team in our conference at our tournament in Arizona, and we beat every (Big Sky) team that was there. The only team that didn't show up is Portland State. I definitely think we have a chance to win next week."
Regardless of what happens in her final regular season tournament, Leslie is looking beyond golf, a landscape she sees as bittersweet. "I'm not really going to be sad to graduate academically," she said. "I'm ready to be done with school. But, I've competed in (golf) tournaments every year since I was 10 years old. To think about not competing any more, I'll really miss that a lot."
Other than competition, Leslie said she will miss her teammates the most. "I really enjoy the team aspect of golf. Even though I haven't had the greatest year, I'm with a great group of girls. That has really made this year fun."
Leslie sees a clear formula to success this weekend. "I think it's all about course management," she said, "or how each individual manages the course. When you're out there playing it's such an individual thing, but you have to put four solid (individual) scores together to be successful as a team. You have to be mentally ready to manage the course."
Leslie is ready for her final conference championship meet. "It gets really intense, but it's very fun. It's especially fun when you're going through it with people you enjoy."
Leslie is not technically from Phoenix, where she and the Bobcat golf team will compete in the Big Sky Championships beginning Monday, April 18, at 7:30 am. Neither are any of her teammates. But that doesn't matter to the senior from Spokane.
"That is definitely our home course in the spring," Leslie says of the Palm Valley Golf Course, the site of not only the Big Sky meet late each spring but of the Bobcat Desert Classic at the beginning of March. "Even the freshmen know the course like the back of their hands by this time of the year, and that's where we played the best tournament we've had since I've been here."
That "best" tournament was this year's Bobcat Desert Classic, where MSU finished third out of 19 teams and shot a 912. While the team played particularly well that weekend, Leslie's tournament mirrored her senior season. She fired an 82-74-86, for an inconsistent three-round 242, her best tourney of the season but still a frustrating experience.
"This year has been really tough for me scoring-wise," Leslie said. I don't know if it's the fifth-year thing or what."
Leslie takes a shot of confidence into the Big Sky meet. Not only will she play on the course the gave up the best single round and best three-round tournament of her senior season, but she played very well last time out at Stanford.
"The past two tournaments have been about getting rid of the kinks, the mental blocks, before the conference tournament," she said. "We were just practicing for the pressure."
The last two tournaments have offered pressure. MSU finished eighth of 13 at the Fresno State Invitational, then came in 15th in a 15-team field at Stanford. That, however, was nothing like the Bobcats will face beginning Monday at the Big Sky meet.
"There's an increased amount of pressure at this tournament," Leslie said. "This is the thing we spend our whole year preparing for."
The task is not as daunting as one might think, according to Leslie. "I think we have a totally legitimate chance of winning the conference," she said. "We saw every team in our conference at our tournament in Arizona, and we beat every (Big Sky) team that was there. The only team that didn't show up is Portland State. I definitely think we have a chance to win next week."
Regardless of what happens in her final regular season tournament, Leslie is looking beyond golf, a landscape she sees as bittersweet. "I'm not really going to be sad to graduate academically," she said. "I'm ready to be done with school. But, I've competed in (golf) tournaments every year since I was 10 years old. To think about not competing any more, I'll really miss that a lot."
Other than competition, Leslie said she will miss her teammates the most. "I really enjoy the team aspect of golf. Even though I haven't had the greatest year, I'm with a great group of girls. That has really made this year fun."
Leslie sees a clear formula to success this weekend. "I think it's all about course management," she said, "or how each individual manages the course. When you're out there playing it's such an individual thing, but you have to put four solid (individual) scores together to be successful as a team. You have to be mentally ready to manage the course."
Leslie is ready for her final conference championship meet. "It gets really intense, but it's very fun. It's especially fun when you're going through it with people you enjoy."
Monday, August 24
Monday, August 24
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Wednesday, June 10
