Extremely young and extremely talented.
With only seven players on his roster, Douglas girls' golf coach Steve Gustafson might have reason to worry. But considering that he has no seniors and that his three best players are all sophomores or freshman, he has plenty to look forward to.
"We have a young group, which bodes well for our future, but we could be very strong right now," Gustafson said. "We'll see what happens, but this is a very talented group."
Douglas is coming off its first team playoff berth in several years, taking fourth in the Sierra League last year.
Their top returning player, Michelle Nikkels, who qualified as the No. 16 seed as a freshman in last year's regional tournament, will be joined by to solid golfing veterans at the top of the Tigers' roster.
"Michelle is one of those who we can count on to shoot in the 80s or 90s," Gustafson said. "She'll be very good."
Sophomore Shelby Louie figures to be the team's ace after a solid rookie season in which she finished 40th overall at the regional championships.
Both Louie and Nikkels will be pushed by freshman Heather Henderson, who is coming off a breakout season on the Northern Nevada Junior Golf circuit this summer. She also played in the Reno-Tahoe Open pro-am event in August.
"Heather had a strong summer and she could be looking at scores in the low 80s," Gustafson said.
Rounding out the top four for Douglas will be junior Katie Gettman, a first-year player who has picked the game up quickly.
"Katie had been very impressive early on," Gettman said. "For her first year out, she has been very good. She shot a 50 in a nine-hole qualifier last week and she'll be strong for us for the next two seasons."
Katelyn Lee, who also had a strong season last year, has improved nearly 20 strokes on her game from last season and will slide easily into the team's No. 5 spot.
"Katelyn was out here working with us over the summer and she has shown enormous improvement as a player," Gustafson said.
The team's roster is rounded out by junior Kristin Wyatt and junior Rachel Merino.
"Rachel is another first-year player but she is learning the game very quickly," Gustafson said. "She'll be all right."
Douglas opened its season at Genoa Lakes last week with Nikkels taking third overall and Henderson and Gettman each posting solid debuts.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
