According to Augsutana golf coach Bill Penny, the most difficult part of putting together a women's golf team is finding players.
He's hoping the addition of Cieanna Hewitt, along with returning golfer Darcy Benoit, will help make that a little less difficult.
"Many golf courses are having problems with developing junior girls," said Penny. "We've got lots of the young girls — six, seven, eight and up — and then, for whatever reason, they get away from golf.
"It's nice to see them at the college level, that they want to pursue golf. I think what the big thing is, nowadays we're offering scholarships and that really attracts athletes."
Hewitt, a chemistry major, is fairly new to the game; she started getting serious about the sport four years ago.
"My dad plays and he was always taking me out to the driving range," she said. "I'd hit a couple balls and goof around, but I really started to enjoy it and it was something we could to together. Since then, I've taken it up and we golf together, my dad and I, and I go out to the course and I've met so many people. It's just been so interesting over the years and it keeps getting better and better."
Penny said Hewitt's dedication to the sport is something he hopes will attract other female golfers to Augustana.
"She's playing competitive golf at her own club level now; she's starting to play in some tournaments," he said. "She'll definitely assist us in putting together a team this year in the conference, which is exciting."
Hewitt has also noticed the lack of other women out on the competitive golfing circuit, saying she's received remarks of surprise when she's showed up to play.
"I play interclubs and I don't think boys expect girls to play interclub and they expect you to not be very good, so I like to prove them wrong," said Hewitt. "I just feel that girls can win things and play well. Girls are just as capable. I feel like girls can keep up with the boys here."
She hopes that seeing a women's university golf team will help inspire young girls to take the sport seriously and stick with it.
"Golfing's not super big, especially with girls my age and it would be a really good way to promote it," she said. "I feel like if we start a girls' golf team at university and then you start winning things and you start building the team, that's a good way to get girls interested in it because you can share your story with younger girls and that would be inspirational for all of them."
The Augustana golf team will be in Olds for the Southern ACAC Regional Finals Sept. 16-18 before heading to Edmonton at the Ravencrest Golf Course for the Northern Regional Golf Championship Sept. 23-25.
Provincials will be held in Portage Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Should the team continue to perform as well as they did last season, they will travel to nationals held in Prince Edward Island.