For just the fourth time in program history and second this season, a Jennies golfer has won an individual tournament title.

Freshman Rosie Klausner won the Central Region Preview Oct. 17 at Muskogee Country Club in Muskogee, Oklahoma, to conclude the Jennies fall season. Klausner joins junior Olivia Sobaski as the only other Jennie to win an individual tournament title. Sobaski claimed her third career win at the Mustang Invitational Sept. 23, where the Jennies also won their third team title in program history.

Photo by Molly Burnam/Photo Editor

Both Sobaski and Klausner won their first individual tournament championships as freshmen.

Klausner entered the final day in second place, trailing the lead by one stroke. She demonstrated a stellar performance over her final four holes, punctuated by a birdie on the 18th hole to clinch her first career tournament win.

“Going down the stretch, I had no idea I was that close,” Klausner said. “I knew it could be coming down to the wire, but I had no clue I had to make the last putt to win it.”

Sobaski began the round in 16th place, but used a round-best score of 71 to climb 14 places to be Klausner’s closest competitor finishing in second place and just one stroke behind.

“After the first day I didn’t play great so I didn’t have any intention of moving up that far individually,” Sobaski said. “I knew our team needed to shoot a good score that day and I knew if I did my best to help, then our team would have a good chance to move up.”

Sobaski said it was fun to be competing with Klausner in the final round

“It was awesome. I was so happy that Rosie won,” she said. “If you have the top-2 in the tournament on your team, you have a good team. I’m proud that one of my teammates won and that we could do that together.”

Despite taking the top-2 places individually, the Jennies were unable to bring home the team title; they finished in second place, three strokes behind host team Northeastern State.

“We all would have liked to have found those three extra shots to get the win,” said Jennies head coach Chris Port. “It was still a great end to the fall for us though.”

Sobaski said she’s proud of how the Jennies performed in the fall.

“Overall we had a really good fall. Our team moved up in the standings, our scoring averages are lower and we’re finishing better in tournaments,” Sobaski said. “Our team won in Minnesota, which is awesome, and we had two second-place finishes. All of that combined, there’s a lot for this team to be proud of, but we’re not done yet, obviously.”

Port said the success this season has been a product of the experience on the team.

“I think it’s kind of two-fold,” he said. “We had eight kids back this fall that have been to the regionals three times and have a lot of experience when it comes to knowing what needs to get done.”

Port said the underclassmen on the team have made an impact and pushed the upperclassmen to be better.

Photo by Molly Burnam/Photo Editor

The Jennies will be back in action in 2019 with their first tournament scheduled for March 4-5 at the Diffee Ford Lincoln Invitational in Edmond, Oklahoma.

“We’ve added five freshmen to the group this year, so they’ve come in, contributed and pushed our upperclassmen,” he said. “At Muskogee, we played a senior, a junior and three freshmen in our top five. Two other sophomores have traveled in our top five, so we’re getting a big push from our underclassmen.”

Port said the success of the underclassmen comes from great leadership.

“The biggest thing for us from a team standpoint is that we’ve had incredible leadership from our upperclassmen,” he said. “They’ve really taken it upon themselves to show the freshmen how it needs to be done and what the expectations are. It’s made a huge difference for us this season.”

Port started the Jennies golf program just eight years ago and has already built a foundation for his team.

“It’s rewarding for me to know I started this program buying apparel and now we’re talking about multiple years competing at the regional,” Port said. “We’ve gotten better every year but the credit really goes to the kids that have come through here. They hit the shots, they carry us up the hill. Every kid that’s come in here has made us better and helped us bring better kids in.”

Klausner said the Jennies have big expectations for the spring season.

“Obviously I want us to make nationals as a team,” she said. “I also want the team to work hard and be there for each other throughout the rest of the season.

The Jennies will resume the 2018-2019 season in the spring when they will open at the Diffee Ford Lincoln Invitational at Kickingbird Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. The Jennies will host the Jennies Golf Invitational March 25-26, 2019 at Mules National Golf Club.