Women’s golf recruiting deemed successful, says UWRF coach

Posted November 12, 2020

The Falcons women’s golf team hosted a recruiting day Oct. 25 and, according to Head Coach Bryan Orlenko, it was very successful.

Orlenko, who has been the head coach of the women’s golf team at UW-River Falls for two years, said that he is very happy with the prospective student-athletes and hopeful that they will sign with UWRF.

“It was a good group and was a good way to show off what makes UWRF special,” he said. “Not just us as a golf team, but as all the students that are here.”

With COVID-19 restrictions, potential student-athletes had to sign up beforehand and were allowed to bring one parent with them to tour the Falcon Center and the campus, as well as meet the coaching staff.

The restrictions permitted only 20 potential student-athletes to visit in one day, according to Orlenko.

Freshman Maddy Eastin was happy that the team was able to show different perspectives of the recruiting process before COVID-19 and during the pandemic. Eastin, who had a very different recruiting experience than most, said that she could connect with this year’s recruits since she too had her high school senior year of golf lost due to COVID-19.

For Eastin, when the opportunity to play at UWRF arose, she took it.

“I decided to make a negative situation into a positive situation,” she said.

Courtney Carson, a junior at UWRF, said she hopes that the potential student-athletes saw what the team’s dynamics and values are. Carson said that the team is about supporting each other, accepting each other and wanting people to be a part of the team.

“Basically the atmosphere and the things that we can provide, the indoor hitting, our coach, the resources on campus are great,” Carson said.

With the women’s golf season moved from the fall to spring this year, Carson, Eastin and Orlenko all said they hope to be able to practice and work as a team to become better people and golfers, and to grow the program to be one that everyone will want to be involved with at UWRF.