VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Athletes try to approach every competition the same way, but that may prove to be a little bit more difficult for the Old Dominion women's golf team this week.
The Monarchs host their only home match of 2022, welcoming 15 other teams for the Evie Odom Invitational. The event will be held at Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach and give fans of the program a chance to take in the action.
"Unlike other sports where half their games are home and half their games are away, for us this is our one and only home game," Monarch head coach Mallory Kane said. "It means a lot to our players to have an opportunity to compete in front of some of their friends and family and our great supporters."
The event is named for Evie Odom, a longtime supporter of the program and former faculty member at Old Dominion. She made the largest contribution to a women's sport in this history of the ODU Athletics, helping to increase the profile of the Monarch women's golf program. Odom is a member of Princess Anne Country Club and is excited to see her home team showcase her home course. Ask her, and she'll tell you there is something for everybody to enjoy this week.
"To see professional quality athletes up close is really awe-inspiring," she noted. "If you've played her before, to watch these athletes navigate this course, you aspire to.. oh my gosh, I would never. Then for the casual person, this is a very beautiful place and just to come out here and enjoy the nature that we have here next to the beach and have an outing and see what a treasure we have here in our area."
The Monarchs are hitting the links for their third match of the season after finishing second in their first two events. The silver and blue posted runner-up showings at Wisconsin and Furman. Now they get a chance to take their own course.
"Hearing Evie and Matt (Liebler, Princess Anne Country Club Director of Golf) talk about how much work is going on behind the scenes, I think, as an athlete, sometimes you forget to be grateful for that and forget that," ODU junior golfer Klara Wildhaber said. "Standing behind the scenes and listening to them talk, it's just kind of emotional, too. Going out there for not only ourselves, but also people like them who put in so much work behind the scenes, it's super, super fun."
"This is one of the best golf courses I've ever played and this tournament is so special to me," added fifth-year senior Federica Torre. "My teammates are amazing, so yes, it's going to be a lot of fun."
The tournament field includes Sun Belt rivals James Madison and Coastal Carolina, as well as Big Ten competitors Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State. Two other teams who are their respective conference's defending champion are making the trip as well in North Florida (Atlantic Sun) and Princeton (Ivy League). In addition to Old Dominion, Charlotte, College of Charleston, East Carolina, High Point, Middle Tennessee, Sacramento State and South Florida round out the field.
While the Evie Odom Invitational was originally supposed to begin on Friday morning, the event will now tee off on Thursday at 1:30 PM. Second round action will begin on Friday morning with the chance of rolling right into the third round on Friday afternoon, weather permitting.
