May 18, 2009
Vanderbilt freshman golfer Marina Alex describes herself as a laid-back person and takes that attitude with her to the course.
Just don’t mistake her relaxed demeanor as noncompetitive.
Alex became the first Commodore freshman ever to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the individual level after finishing in a tie for fifth place at the East Regionals from May 7-9 in Gainesville, FL. She shot a 214 (69-72-73) to be one of two players on teams that did not finish in the top 8 to advance to nationals at Cave Valley Golf Course in Owings Mill, Md., as Vanderbilt finished five strokes off an NCAA bid.
“If you can’t get there with the team, getting there on your own is a big deal,” said Vanderbilt coach Greg Allen. “She had her mind made up that she was playing well enough and she was going to do everything she could to get there.”
Alex certainly did her part but the rest of the Commodores struggled on the final day. She was disappointed that her team could not come with but is still excited about the opportunity to play on a big stage.
“This is a pleasant surprise actually,” Alex said. “I came here really hoping to make an impact on the team and play well, and I have this year. Going to nationals is really nice.”
Alex’s final round was not entirely indicative of her play that day, as many of her birdie putts were on target but barely missed.
“As good as she played last week, it still could have been a lot better,” Allen said. “I think we’re going to see some great things out of her in the next three years and hopefully starting next week.”
A balanced game has been the key to Alex’s success. A strong and accurate driver, she also is extremely talented with her irons, as evidenced by hitting 17 out of 18 greens in regulation on the final day of competition at Regionals.
She has been steadily preparing for nationals for the last week, with help not only from Allen and assistant coach Nicki Cutler, but also recently graduated Jacqui Concolino, who had a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships in 2007.
“She’s just been giving a couple pointers as the week goes on to get me ready to go, more just filling me up with confidence than anything,” Alex said. “She’s seen me play and she knows very well what I’m capable of doing.”
With Alex as the lone Vanderbilt player at nationals, it will be an adjustment for not only her but also her coaches as they will be with her all four days of the tournament, when generally they are taking turns looking at other Commodore golfers.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen her play 72 holes combined all year,” Allen said. “It’s going to be fun to spend a lot of quality time with her.”
As for Alex, she’s approaching the national stage the way she approaches anything else.
“It’s just another tournament. They’ll be plenty more national championships, like three more,” Alex said. “I’m not going to give it any extra effort or emphasis, because I don’t want to apply more pressure to myself than I need to.”
Alex was taught to play by her father, who still plays competitive amateur golf in the northeast, when she was four but did not start golfing seriously until she was a teenager. With no women’s team at Wayne Hills High School in New Jersey, Alex played with the boys instead.
And she did more than play with them. She was the No. 1 player on the team and regularly defeated her male opponents.
“They hated it. Some guys in particular really didn’t like being beaten by a girl,” Alex said, laughing. “I could see frustration in their faces when they were playing, when they’d walk off nine-hole matches and I had beaten them by a shot. Wasn’t what they looked forward to.”
Bolstered by this experience and the tutelage of Allen and Cutler, Alex has made a fast adjustment to the college level of competition.
She won the team’s first qualifier in the fall after she birdied four of her last five holes, and she then earned a sixth-place overall finish in a stacked field at the Mason Rudolph Championships in September, her first collegiate tournament. She also led the team at the SEC Championships with a 17th-place overall finish.
Allen said he could sense Alex would be a special player for the Commodores when he was recruiting her. His judgment can be trusted: He felt the same way about Lorena Ochoa when he coached her at Arizona, and Ochoa is currently the top-ranked player on the LPGA Tour.
“She’s going to be our leader, as a sophomore next year, just (from) the experience that she’s gaining,” Allen said. “She’s definitely the future of Vanderbilt women’s golf.”
Alex harbors an ambition to be a professional player herself after she leaves school.
“Right now I’m heading in a good direction,” she said.
Another understatement from someone who lets her play speak for itself.
(Editor’s Note: David Rutz is a rising senior at Vanderbilt and is the Sports Editor of the Vanderbilt Hustler. He is serving as a summer intern in the Athletic Communications Office.)
