There is life for the Biola Eagles women’s golf team from an unlikely source: a freshman named Mychaela Graf. Historically, the Eagles’ golf program has struggled to be competitive, but Graf is leading the new batch of Eagles players who are ready to burst onto the scene and show that Biola can compete with any team they face.

AN EXCELLENT CAREER

Graf trained for Biola at Murrieta Mesa High School in Murrieta, Calif., where she had an excellent career. She tried out as a freshman and immediately became their top player.

“My scoring average was 47 my freshman year and then it dropped to 39 by my sophomore year,” Graf said. “I went to CIF [California Interscholastic Federation] sophomore through senior year, and my junior year I shot my career low round, 66, and tied for first in my league. Senior year in CIF regionals I shot my second lowest round 69, which put me in a tie for fifth.”

FEELING WELCOMED

Graf found her way to Biola because one of the assistant coaches came to watch her at a few tournaments. Once Graf came to campus, the welcome she got really set the tone for her first year as a Biola athlete.

“I came to Biola because I met the coaches and the girls on the team and I felt really welcomed and the overall atmosphere felt like it was the right place for me to be,” Graf said.

In the two tournaments Biola has been a part of, Graf posted the top individual score in both of them, something that has never happened before in Eagles women’s golf history, let alone by a freshman. Not only that, but Graf also led the Eagles to their first team tournament win in school history at the ACU Firestorm Fall Invite.

At the par 72 Firestorm Fall Invite, Graf scored a 75 in the first round and a 77 in the second round to give her a total score of eight over par, which beat out the second place finisher from Arizona Christian University by six strokes. The next closest Eagle to Graf finished 11 strokes behind over the 36 holes.

AN INTERESTING POSITION

The next tournament the Eagles attended was the Embry-Riddle Co-Ed Invite from Sept. 27-28. This tournament had three rounds, and Graf was able to repeat her feat by scoring a 13 over par in the 54 hole tournament. This was just enough to give her the six stroke advantage over the next-closest finisher, freshman Taylor Kain-Godoy from Claremont Mudd-Scripps. Graf’s first round score of 74 was her lowest on the season, barely beating out her 75 in the first round of the Firestorm tournament.

Graf finds herself in an interesting position, as she is the star player among a very young golf team. The team is composed of two freshmen, five sophomores, one junior and one senior, which is very good news for a program that was in desperate need of some star power. The golf team’s next tournament tees off on Oct. 26 at the CSU San Marcos Fall Invite, as all eyes are on Graf to see what she will do next.