Bowling Green State University Athletics
Texas Freshman Sets BGSU Scoring Record
May 04, 2010 | Women's Golf
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Susy Grunden hadn't even heard of Bowling Green State University a few years ago.
Now, after her freshman season for the Falcons' golf team, she's already etched her named in the BG record book.
The Denton, Texas native ended her first season at the collegiate level with the best single-season 18-hole average in the history of the program. She finished with an average of 78.538, barely edging the previous mark set by Jenny Schnipke in 2003-04 by four one-thousandths of a stroke.
"Everything just clicked when I got to school," Grunden said. "I've never really hit it like I've been hitting it here."
Grunden secured the scoring record on the final day of the Mid-American Conference tournament last weekend, where the Falcons finished eighth as a team. She needed to card a 76 in the final round to break the record, and birdied No. 17 and No. 18 to finish with a 76, just ahead of the old mark.
"I had forgotten about the record ... It was probably the last thing on my mind," said Grunden, who finished tied for 15th overall at the MAC tournament. "When we were in line for food (after the tournament), I think one of the coaches on the team told me I broke the record. I was like, 'Yeah, I guess I did.'"
Though breaking the record may not seem all that big of a deal to Grunden, that's because she feels she can improve on what has been a great start to her college career.
Her coach, Stephanie Young, agrees.
"Usually, freshmen have a little bit of a transition from the high school game to college. She's just made it look easy. Her game is effortless," said Young, who is in her fourth full season as BG's head coach. "What she's been able to do this year is phenomenal. She's just going to go up from here."
Young set her sights on Grunden when she discovered the former prep standout on a recruiting trip to Texas for another golfer.
"The moment I saw her I knew I wanted her. I had to have her," Young said. "She was the kind of kid that was for our program and where I wanted to take us ... She could have gone a lot of places, but she chose to come here."
Young made multiple trips to Texas to visit Grunden in an attempt to get her to attend BGSU. Grunden, who is one of the best ball-strikers in the women's college game according to Young, said she was recruited by some smaller Division I and Division II schools in Texas.
"I had never heard of it," Grunden said of BGSU. "When I was a sophomore, coach (Young) came down and watched me in a tournament. She was actually looking at someone else and she found me. I didn't know she was watching me and I played pretty well. She sent me a letter and I was like, 'I'm not going to Ohio.'"
But Grunden then made a visit to BG and decided that she wanted to be a Falcon.
"It was definitely flat and corn fields," Grunden said of her first impression of BG. "But my dad always said it's not the environment, it's the relationships that you build. That's definitely been a major component."
Now that she's settled in here, Grunden is hoping to improve on her scoring record, adding that her average could have been lower this season had it not been for some high rounds.
"I want to keep making my average lower. Even though I did break the record I had some high rounds in there, so I need to take those out," she said.
Not to mention this past season was the first time Grunden played on an actual golf team, having spent her prep career playing as an individual. Her high school, Denton Calvary Academy, did not have a team.
"It's really not too much of a surprise," Young said. "I knew what kind of talent she had. She still hasn't peaked yet.
"As good of a player as she is, she's an even better lady," Young continued. "She conducts herself first-class and that's what our program is all about, doing it the right way."
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