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Star Catamount not satisfied
By CAREY FREEMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2001 CRYSTAL RIVER -- Rebecca Twiner is not happy. That's a good thing for the Western Carolina Catamounts. Twiner's attitude just proves what many in the area have known for a while: The former Crystal River standout golfer will be satisfied with nothing less than what she thinks is her best effort. That is where Twiner and her supporters diverge. Most consider her accomplishments -- WCU Women's Golfer of the Year and the lowest stroke average on the team -- exceptional for a freshman. Twiner thinks otherwise. "I'm happy I got the award and I didn't think I did too bad, but I really wish I could have done better," Twiner said. College golf "takes some getting used to," she said. "The grass is different and the elevation in mountains. ... Tee to green, I did okay, but I had some trouble putting." Adjusting from the Bermuda greens of her home town to the bent-grass found on courses in North Carolina has been difficult for Twiner, who won two district and two conference titles in her four years at Crystal River High School. However, as far as freshman performances go, Twiner's was outstanding. Her average of 81 nearly was five strokes higher than her high school average, but it was good enough to lead the Catamounts and earn the player of the year award. Twiner's frustrations are understandable, given the differences in competition and course difficulty. Since college teams regularly play from the white and blue tees, the average distance increase per hole is 50-100 yards. Then there's that pesky bent grass, which plays quite differently than the Bermuda that dominates courses in Florida. "I think the different grass did have an effect," Twiner said. "It took time to get used to the speed and how the ball rolls. It's totally different. But, if you can't putt, you can't score." This is an area Twiner plans to concentrate on during her summer vacation. After their sixth-place finish in this year's Southern Conference Golf Championships, Twiner and Western Carolina are looking forward to much-improved efforts. The Catamounts just added top European recruits in Johanna Lundberg (Sweden) and Line Soeltoft Cordes (Denmark). Twiner, unafraid of the challenge, is looking forward to their arrival and what they could bring to the team. "They are both good," Twiner said. "I'm hoping, by my junior year, we'll win the conference championship. "I'm not worried about losing my spot. I just want a good team, always try to do best, want a strong team, too," she said. "Plus, I always play better when I have competition." Right now Twiner's biggest competitor is herself and her unrelenting desire to improve that stroke average. She plans to spend a lot of time honing her short game, locally and on the State Farm Collegiate Players Tour -- an organization created in 1994 to give college players a chance to compete during the summer. Twiner expects to see her first action at an event in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on June 4-6. Things are going well in Twiner's non-golfing pursuits. She finished her first year (31 hours) with a 3.6 GPA and has found the transition to college life to be an easy one. "I love it here," she said. "The classes are great. The professors are great, and I love the small class size. I knew every teacher and contacted them through e-mail twice a week on average. "I can't believe the first year is already gone. I don't know where it went."
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