Glendale college golfer Sarah Soderberg not lonely on the links
PASADENA — While it would be nice to celebrate with teammates following a round of competition, Sarah Soderberg isn’t concerned about being the lone member of the Glendale Community College women’s golf team.
The Vaqueros are in transition after finishing runner-up in the state tournament the past two seasons. With new Coach Natalie Guidry overseeing the program, Soderberg, a freshman, has been busy trying to make birdies and pars.
“Yes, it would be great to have some teammates,” said Soderberg, a native of Sweden who shot a 12-over-par 83 on Monday in a Western State Conference home match at Brookside Golf Course No. 2. “It would also be nice for me to cheer for teammates, but I just have to go out there and do what I can.
“I was pretty happy with my round. I started off real good, but then I had a couple of bad holes. I’ve got some things to work on, like my swing. I like how I’ve played so far.”
Soderberg, who entered Monday’s round tied for seventh in conference with an 84.40 average, finished with one birdie and nine pars. Soderberg, who earned medalist honors in the second conference match of the season Sept. 16 at Simi Hills Golf Course, registered a birdie on the par-three 10th hole.
Maggie Daly of Santa Barbara carded a 75 to secure medalist honors. Santa Barbara won with a 319 and was followed by College of the Canyons (346), Citrus (354) and Bakersfield (380).
Guidry, who took over the program from Greg Osbourne on July 18, said Soderberg continues to make improvements.
“She’s going through a swing change right now,” said Guidry, a former UC Riverside women’s golfer and Glendale’s third coach since the program was formed in 2007. “She’s trying her best to find her way and she will.
“I’m here to motivate her and help her more with her mental game. I can be more hands on with her.”
Soderberg and Guidry normally practice about three times per week.
“She’s mostly works with me on the mental part of the game and helping me plan out my rounds,” Soderberg said. “I’ve found out that golf is really about attitude.”
Guidry said she plans to begin recruiting after the season ends in November.
She’s got a plan in place to drum up interest in the program.
“I want to pick up some international players, along with some players from around the area,” Guidry said. “We will go out there and find golfers.”
Glendale college Athletic Director John Cicuto said the Vaqueros have an ideal building block in place in Soderberg to help expand the program.
“Sarah has come here and done a great job,” Cicuto said. “She’s handled herself very well.
“You have to remember Natalie came here in July and didn’t have much time to recruit for this season. She tried to get people. Give her a full year to recruit and we can build on a lot of good things. It’s just going to take some time.”
The conference finals will be held Nov. 3-4 at Alisal Ranch Golf Course in Solvang.
