Although she was a part of history in the making yesterday afternoon, freshman Leah Wigger was not feeling any pressure.
"It felt like just another round," Wigger said.
Playing in the first women's golf match in University history, Wigger rose to the occasion and shot a team-low 74 to help the Cavaliers defeat Richmond by 32 strokes at Birdwood Country Club in Charlottesville yesterday afternoon.
Freshmen Rachel Smith and Sally Shonk both finished with scores of 75 while freshman Lindsay Robinson ended the day with a 78. None of the Spiders were able to break 80, giving Virginia an easy 302-334 victory.
The match opens a season that will be a challenging one for the Cavaliers. Although the top six players on the squad are all freshmen, Virginia coach Jan Mann compiled a schedule against some of the top teams in the country.
"To be the best, you have to play the best," Mann said. "We were very fortunate to get a strong tournament schedule right away. One of our goals is to make it to regionals as a first-year team, and to do that we need to play top competition."
Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage was in attendance yesterday for the historic match. He believes Mann will be able to help get this team to the top right away.
"We thought it was important to have the very best leader possible," Littlepage said. "Coach Mann has plenty of experience, and she brings immediate credibility to our program. She has been able to launch this team with some magnificent young women."
The gem of the school's first recruiting class is Wigger, who started at number one yesterday for the Cavaliers. Wigger was the Kentucky state high school champion last year, setting the state record with a five-under 139 at the championship tournament.
"Leah is my quiet leader," Mann said. "She is a very strong player, and she leads by example. She is just beginning to reach her potential."
With three other freshmen shooting under 80 yesterday, Virginia showed that depth should not be an issue this season.
"Trying to get very top players to a new program is near impossible," Mann said. "I was able to attract players whose ambition is to become the best. Here, they have an opportunity to be a part of history and an opportunity to play."
Virginia announced the addition of the women's golf program in 2001 after receiving a $1.4 million gift from William C. Eacho, Jr. to create an endowment for funding women's golf scholarships. Mann was hired in June of 2002 after spending eight years as coach at UNC-Wilmington. And with a blowout win in the season opener, expectations for this season will certainly not be low.
To Wigger and her teammates, however, the pressure is off. It's just about going out, having fun and surprising some opponents in the process.
"It's less intimidating," Robinson said. "There's nothing that we have to live up to. Nobody expects much from us because we're a first-year team, but I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."
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