03/01/2012 CardsTV - Women's Golf Coach's Show - 03-01-12Head coach Kelly Rothberg and her weekly show on CardsTV. Hard work and dedication is what head coach Kelly Meyers Rothberg brought to the University of Louisville 14 years ago when she was hired to build a women's golf program. Rothberg took that job seriously and quickly put Louisville women's golf on the map nationally, including their first NCAA Top 10 Finish in 2007. Rothberg's hard work has paid has in the form of five consecutive NCAA appearances for the first time in program history. The Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship in 2007, 2008 and 2011 automatic bids in 2009 and 2010. Louisville earned their first Top 25 ranking in 2007. Louisville has been a constant in the Top 25 in four of the last five seasons. Last season the Cards made their fifth straight NCAA Regional appearance after a runner-up finish in the BIG EAST Tournament. The team finished 12th in the regional with a score of 899 while senior Sara-Maude Juneau led the Cards' with a score of 220, finishing tied for 20th. Juneau won her second straight BIG EAST Player of the Year honor and was accompanied by her teammates, Laura Anderson and Anna-Karin Ljungstorm on the All-BIG EAST Team. Juneau led the BIG EAST in scoring average with a career best 73.17, and ended the season being ranked 19th in the country in Golfstat rankings. Juneau earned third team NGCA All-American honors to end her career at Louisville. In 2010 the Cardinals continued their tradition of success by winning an unprecedented fourth BIG EAST title in five years and advancing to their fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance. Louisville finished the season in the Top 10 in seven of the Cards' 11 tournament appearances last season. Juneau was named BIG EAST Player of the Year. She was also named All-BIG EAST for a third straight season, along with Laura Anderson, while Daphne Parker earned her second straight All-BIG EAST honor and Anna- Karin Ljungstrom earned her first. Juneau and Anderson earned honorable mention All-American honors, give Rothberg her second and third All-Americans. For Anderson, she was selected to compete in the World University Games for the U.S., where she helped the team to a bronze medal finish after finishing in the tournament in fifth place. In 2009 the Cardinals won their third BIG EAST Championship in four seasons in the league. For the first time in school history the Cardinals had four players selected to the All-BIG EAST team. Rothberg won her third BIG EAST Coach of the Year award. Louisville advanced to the NCAA Championship for the third straight season. The Cardinals finished the 2009 season ranked 18th by Golfstat and 19th by Golf Week. Senior Cindy LaCrosse earned a bid to the NCAA Championship after finishing tied at 18th in the regional. LaCrosse came from behind the final two days at the NCAA Championship to finish tied for 11th. LaCrosse also became the first Cardinal All-American, earning second teamhonors by the NGCA and GolfWeek. She also became the highest ranked player in school history, 11th by Golfstat and 17th by Golf Week. The Cardinals finished in the Top 10 of 10 tournaments during the 2008 season and jumped into the Top 25 rankings after winning the Canes/Cardinal Classic in April. Louisville finished second at the BIG EAST Tournament and three Cardinals (LaCrosse, Anderson and Juneau) earned All-BIG EAST honors. Louisville earned an at-large bid to the NCAA East Regional Championship and finished 10th in the competitive field. Freshman Sara-Maude Juneau became the first Cardinal to earn an individual spot at the NCAA Championships. Juneau finished in the Top 50 at the NCAA Championships. In just their first two seasons of competition in the BIG EAST, the Cardinals won their first two conference championships in women's golf. The women's golf team became the first Louisville program to earn back-to-back BIG EAST titles. The Cardinals won their second BIG EAST Championship in dramatic fashion in 2007. The Cardinals made a comeback in the final round to force a playoff with Notre Dame. The Cardinals took the BIG EAST title in a one hole playoff. With the momentum of the BIG EAST title behind them, the Cardinals were set on making school history at a level never reached since launching the program in 2000. With a top-eight finish in the NCAA East Regional, the Cardinals advanced to their first NCAA Championship. Rothberg and the Cardinals were not happy just making the NCAA Championship, they made school history with a Top 10 finish. While LaCrosse captured the BIG EAST title, Adrienne White and Amanda Henry earned All-BIG EAST honors. LaCrosse and White became the first Cardinals to earn NGCA All-Region honors after finishing in the top eight of the NCAA East Regional. Rothberg earned her second BIG EAST Coach of the Year honor as well. In 2006, the Cardinals captured their first BIG EAST title. Junior standout White also captured medalist honors for the Cardinals as well as earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship. Along with White, teammates Cristina Gonzalez and LaCrosse earned All-BIG EAST honors. Rothberg was also honored as BIG EAST Coach of the Year. For the 2005 season Rothberg added much needed depth to the Cardinal lineup with transfer White and freshman Jenny Calkins. The move paid off as the Cardinals broke several school records in the fall, including the low tournament score and low round in the USF/Beacon Woods Invitational. Both White and Calkins earned all-conference honors along with Meghan Little. Little and White went on to earn at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, marking another Louisville first. In 2004 the Cardinals were faced with the adversity of playing without their top returner, forcing a young Louisville lineup for much of the season. Little stepped up and led the young squad and became the first Louisville player to win two tournament titles. After sitting out the fall season, sophomore Elly Leonard made her spring debut by winning titlest honors. Despite the lack of depth in 2003-04 the Cardinals were able to finish fourth in the Conference USA Championship. During the 2001-02 season the Cardinals had a strong fall showing, ending it with the Edwin Watts Palmetto Intercollegiate title, their first tournament win in school history. Louisville entered the spring of the 2002 season ranked 47th nationally and 11th in the region, their highest ranking. But early into the spring season the Cards were faced withadversity, losing their number three player for most of the season. The Cardinals' lack of depth showed and they were unable to recover and earn their second straight NCAA bid. The Cards finished the season with seven Top 10 finishes in their 11 tournaments. During the 2000-01 season Rothberg guided Louisville to six Top Five finishes in their 11 tournaments. The Cardinals finished third at the Conference USA Championship. In just their second year of existence, the Cardinals earned a bid as the 17th seed in the NCAA East Regional. Louisville finished tied for 15th but did not finish the third round of play due to the weather conditions. In her first season as a head coach, Rothberg was voted the 2000 Conference USA Coach of the Year. Rothberg earned the honor after guiding her squad to a second place finish in the Conference USA Championships. Rothberg also saw a member of her first recruiting class, Katherine Mowat, earn medalist honors at the Conference USA Championship. Since starting the Louisville program, Rothberg has coached six players that went on to earn All-Conference USA honors and six players that earned All-BIG EAST honors. Six of her players have gone on to win titlest honors at different tournaments. Three of her players have won conference tournament titles and Adrienne White and Cindy LaCrosse became the first players to earn NGCA All-Region honors last season. Rothberg brings over 27 years of amateur and professional experience to the Cardinal golf program. She spent four seasons as assistant coach with the University of Florida program. In the spring of 1998, she took over as interim head coach and led the Lady Gators to a second place finish in the NCAA championships. As the assistant with the Gators she helped coordinate the team's schedule, practices and travel. Rothberg also handled the team's equipment coordination and had budgetary and recruiting responsibilities. Prior to her stint at Florida, Rothberg served as the assistant golf pro at Tucson National Golf and Conference Resort. In professional competition, Rothberg has posted several top finishes, including two top-10 mini-tour placings during the 1994 season. A native of South Dakota, she competed in the Players West Mini Tour in California for three seasons (1992-94) and won the 1994 Rose Hogan Commemorative Award. She also served as a golf instructor at Eastern Wyoming College from 1991-93 and as an amateur assistant at Meadowbrook Golf Course in Rapid City, S.D., in 1990. Rothberg set numerous records at the University of Wyoming where she earned her degree in business administration in 1990. Rothberg won the 1988 South Dakota Women's Amateur Championship as a sophomore. She is a six-time qualifier for the National Publix Amateur and took home various titles and set a number of course records during her 16 years as an amateur golfer. She is also an LPGA Class A member of the teaching and club professional division. Rothberg served on the NGCA Awards Committee and the NGCA Ethics Committee. She also served on the Regional Advisory Committee. She was married to J.D. Rothberg on June 12, 2005. The couple resides in Louisville with daughters Katie (22), Kelsey (22), and Bonnie (15). The couple welcomed son Zaxton Meyers Rothberg to the family on Oct. 8, 2006. |
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