Photo by: Ira Green | Louisville Athletics
Whitney Young Looks Forward to Return of Hartlage, 2020-21 Season
May 13, 2020 | Women's Golf
All-American Lauren Hartlage returns for another season.
University of Louisville women's golf coach Whitney Young definitely had an interesting first season as head coach of the Cardinals.
The Cardinals raced out to a solid start, finishing no lower than third place in three events, including a win in their own tournament -- the Cardinal Cup. The Cardinals played in only six events, but the team showed a lot of promise during that limited sample size.
However, after those events, the team was forced to cancel its season after the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down the country, limiting Young's initial season with her team. The squad is trying to be patient, hoping that things will resume back to normal very soon.
"The current situation is an unknown to everyone," Young said. "Our players continue to ask for updates almost every day, but we just have to remind them to do their part and hopefully we will be back together in August."
"We all want to get back to our normal routines, and hopefully we will soon, but President Neeli Bendapudi, Vince Tya and our senior staff are working around the clock to make sure we have the smartest and safest plan in place for our students, faculty and staff to start back in August."
One person who will be coming back will be All-American Lauren Hartage, who was scheduled to conclude her senior season the year. The NCAA passed a rule allowing spring sport student-athletes to earn another year of eligibility because of the cancellation of the rest of the spring season.
Hartlage became just the third golfer in program history to earn All-American honors by the coaches association, and the first since Sara-Maude Juneau in 2010 and 2011. Cindy LaCrosse was the other player to earn to honor, being named a Second Team All-American in 2009.
Despite a shortened season due to the worldwide pandemic, the Elizabethtown, Kentucky native, still had a record season. The senior set a new UofL single-season record with a 71.53 stroke average in 17 rounds. She is the first Louisville golfer to average below par for a season. Hartlage finished in the top-10 in four of the six tournaments in which UofL competed.
"Lauren coming back for the 2020-21 season was a nice jolt for us," Young said. "She has been our leading scorer for the past four seasons so it was a pleasant surprise when she called to tell me she wanted to come back."
"Lauren has always wanted the team to succeed, and being the competitor that she is, she definitely wants another opportunity at winning a conference and national championship. Lauren will be a huge asset for us next year and we are thrilled she chose to stay."
With one of the nation's top players back in the picture, Young is optimistic heading into the 2020-21 season, with three other top players returning in Hana Ryskova, Mairead Martin, and Lauren Thibodeau. The Cardinals won the Cardinal Cup and closed the season by shooting even-par to finish in third place overall at the Moon Golf Invitational. However, with COVID-19 still impacting rhe world, the future is still influx with the uncertainty of containing this high contagious virus.
"We can't wait to get started and back to 'normal in both golf and life," Young said. With our two freshman coming in, along with Lauren coming back, it could be another special year. We have a strong schedule and will compete in four events this fall including our first event being at home."
"We are also hosting NCAA regionals next spring which is another exciting thing to look forward to. We will have another year of depth so it's going to be tough to make the lineup, but that's what you want from a coach's aspect as that will push everyone on the team as no spot is guaranteed."
The Cardinals raced out to a solid start, finishing no lower than third place in three events, including a win in their own tournament -- the Cardinal Cup. The Cardinals played in only six events, but the team showed a lot of promise during that limited sample size.
However, after those events, the team was forced to cancel its season after the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down the country, limiting Young's initial season with her team. The squad is trying to be patient, hoping that things will resume back to normal very soon.
"The current situation is an unknown to everyone," Young said. "Our players continue to ask for updates almost every day, but we just have to remind them to do their part and hopefully we will be back together in August."
"We all want to get back to our normal routines, and hopefully we will soon, but President Neeli Bendapudi, Vince Tya and our senior staff are working around the clock to make sure we have the smartest and safest plan in place for our students, faculty and staff to start back in August."
One person who will be coming back will be All-American Lauren Hartage, who was scheduled to conclude her senior season the year. The NCAA passed a rule allowing spring sport student-athletes to earn another year of eligibility because of the cancellation of the rest of the spring season.
Hartlage became just the third golfer in program history to earn All-American honors by the coaches association, and the first since Sara-Maude Juneau in 2010 and 2011. Cindy LaCrosse was the other player to earn to honor, being named a Second Team All-American in 2009.
Despite a shortened season due to the worldwide pandemic, the Elizabethtown, Kentucky native, still had a record season. The senior set a new UofL single-season record with a 71.53 stroke average in 17 rounds. She is the first Louisville golfer to average below par for a season. Hartlage finished in the top-10 in four of the six tournaments in which UofL competed.
"Lauren coming back for the 2020-21 season was a nice jolt for us," Young said. "She has been our leading scorer for the past four seasons so it was a pleasant surprise when she called to tell me she wanted to come back."
"Lauren has always wanted the team to succeed, and being the competitor that she is, she definitely wants another opportunity at winning a conference and national championship. Lauren will be a huge asset for us next year and we are thrilled she chose to stay."
With one of the nation's top players back in the picture, Young is optimistic heading into the 2020-21 season, with three other top players returning in Hana Ryskova, Mairead Martin, and Lauren Thibodeau. The Cardinals won the Cardinal Cup and closed the season by shooting even-par to finish in third place overall at the Moon Golf Invitational. However, with COVID-19 still impacting rhe world, the future is still influx with the uncertainty of containing this high contagious virus.
"We can't wait to get started and back to 'normal in both golf and life," Young said. With our two freshman coming in, along with Lauren coming back, it could be another special year. We have a strong schedule and will compete in four events this fall including our first event being at home."
"We are also hosting NCAA regionals next spring which is another exciting thing to look forward to. We will have another year of depth so it's going to be tough to make the lineup, but that's what you want from a coach's aspect as that will push everyone on the team as no spot is guaranteed."
Players Mentioned
Whitney Young Women's Golf Media Day Press Conference 2.12.25
Friday, May 16
Women's Golf Media Day 2023
Tuesday, January 24
Mental Health Awareness Month Feature
Friday, May 27
A Matter of Perspective: Lauren Thibodeau
Monday, February 28
