“Our team is truly a team. I coach that way and I preach to our players that Denver women’s golf is a family,” says Head Coach Sammie Chergo. “We push each other to be better, and when we all get better we see results,” adds senior golfer Kate Waggoner (pictured). The approach pays off: The Pioneers won the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Championship. Photo: Bill Sallaz
On Wednesday nights you’ll find the 10-member DU women’s golf team huddled in front of the TV watching “The Bachelorette.” Team members also celebrated — of all holidays — Groundhog Day.
“Yep, we had a Groundhog Day party. We’re goofballs. We have a lot of fun together,” says senior golfer Kate Waggoner. “We had a Valentine’s Day party, too. We’re always together.”
That’s odd, because the last time anyone checked, golf was an individual sport. But don’t try to tell that to the Pioneers’ coach.
“Our team is truly a team. I coach that way and I preach to our players that Denver women’s golf is a family,” says Head Coach Sammie Chergo.
Why is “team” important in golf?
“It’s about encouragement and friendship,” Waggoner says. “We push each other to be better, and when we all get better we see results.”
Those results come in the form of scores. Of the five DU golfers competing in a tournament, only the best four scores count. So when the Pioneers compete, the game looks more like football than golf — there’s fist pumping, cheering and shouts of encouragement flying above the greens. It’s light years from your father’s golf.
Chergo has implanted the enthusiasm and team spirit. “I used to play a lot of team sports, and I come from a close family,” she says. “So I know the team approach fosters a chemistry that keeps the group working hard toward our mission of winning — as a team.”
Chergo searches for players like first-year golfer Emily Hoeper who are invested in the concept of teamwork in golf.
“I could see the chemistry when I visited DU,” Hoeper says. “If I’m having a bad day, my teammates can help me get through it. I’ve gotten better since I’ve been here because the team helps take the pressure off me as an individual.”
Chergo says she mandates a great attitude and strong work ethic. “Combine those two with some fun, and it’s powerful,” she adds.
Another strength is smarts: Low scores on the grass — high scores in the class. With a 3.43, the women’s golf team owns one of the highest team GPAs at DU.
DU women’s golf is still in its toddler years; the program started in 1998. But it’s a gifted child. From the very beginning the team has been nationally competitive. It has placed seven golfers on the All-Sun Belt Conference Team, won the 2004 SBC title and made regional NCAA tournament appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2004 (the team finished 11th). Last fall, the team enjoyed its best season ever with top-five finishes in its biggest tournaments and the lowest team scoring average.
Chergo says credit for the team’s fast start belongs to the University’s leadership and the efforts of one man: Ron Moore, BS ’54. “Ron and his passion for the game really made all the success we’ve had a reality,” she says.
Moore, who died last year at 70, was a longtime member of the DU Board of Trustees and brought golf back to DU after a long absence.
The women’s golf team captured the prestigious 2003 Stanford Peg Barnard tournament title — its second tournament title of the season — just six days after Moore passed, and it’s in Moore’s shadow that Chergo says the team will continue to improve.
“We have to strive to keep getting better and better. Our goals are high. We want to break into the top 25 and consistently play in the NCAA tournament,” Chergo says.
The work is laid out — the team currently is ranked No. 54 in the country. But it’s tough to find those who would bet against the team reaching — and even surpassing — its goals.