Last winter, sophomore golfer Alex Wunderlich had a lot on his mind. In the midst of a swing change that began during the summer before his freshman season, Wunderlich struggled to find consistency throughout the fall season and found himself in and out of the Eagles' travel team. He knew that the spring season would go a long way to determining his future at Emory.
Now, one year later, everything has changed for Wunderlich. He followed up a stellar spring 2012 season with more success in the fall. His scoring average of 74.2 is second on the team, just behind junior Johnathan Chen's 73.8.
Wunderlich attributes his early inconsistency to his swing change.
"I made some major changes in the summer [before freshman year], and I wasn't fully comfortable when my freshman season began," Wunderlich said. "I was working on a lot of things mechanically and once that fell into place, I was able to settle down."
Wunderlich had a lot of resources to help him out along the way, the first of which was head coach John Sjoberg.
Last season was Sjoberg's first season as the team's head coach, following the retirement of long time head coach Mike Phillips. Sjoberg had previously worked as an assistant coach for the Emory golf team.
"Coach Sjoberg is really knowledgeable about the golf swing," Wunderlich said. "He was able to help me a lot as I was changing my swing. It definitely would have taken a lot longer to go through the swing change if it had not been for him."
In addition to Sjoberg, Wunderlich also had the support of a series of veteran players, including seniors Michael Mullavey and Ryan Dagerman as well as Chen. Not only were these players able to help Wunderlich adjust to playing at the collegiate level, but they all speak very highly of him.
"Wunderlich has really come a long way and is now an important asset to the team," Chen said. "I'm excited to see what he can do for us this season and in the future."
The impact that older players had on Wunderlich was not limited to the golf course. There was also an adjustment period with collegiate academics.
"It was definitely an advantage for me to have such good players above me to help me learn," Wunderlich said. "They had all been through the different tournaments that we were playing in, but they also had all dealt with balancing classes and golf and being successful."
With a fully adjusted swing, and help from Sjoberg and veteran leaders, Wunderlich was ready to come into his own in the spring.
He went on to blaze through Division III competition, posting his lowest score of 68 during the second round of the Marine Federal Credit Union Championship.
Wunderlich's second half tear ended in his being named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Rookie of the Year as well as the first team all-UAA. His final scoring average of 76.2 strokes per round was good for third on the team.
This season has been no different. Wunderlich led off the first event of the fall season with 69 (-3) at the Rhodes College Fall Classic. This score put him at second in a field of 95 golfers.
Though a string of late season successes by Chen moved Wunderlich down to second on the team's scoring average rankings, Wunderlich still figures prominently as the Eagles look to repeat as UAA champions.
"We have a few tourneys leading up to the UAA tournament," Wunderlich said. "We are just hoping to all get in a rhythm leading up. We need everyone out there and playing. I think we have as good of a shot this year to win the UAA as we did last year."
The Eagles have been off since Oct. 16, when they played in the Golfweek D-III Fall Preview at Raven Golf Club in Sandestin, Fla. Emory's next match will be against Oglethorpe University on Feb. 18.
In the interim, Wunderlich thinks the biggest thing has been getting some time to relax.
"A lot of us live in cold weather climates," Wunderlich said. "It was pretty cold back in Michigan. I was still able to hit some balls, but I think the biggest thing for everyone has been getting some time off to rest and refocus for the spring season."
Wunderlich and the Eagles will look to continue their fall success when the season resumes on Feb. 18 against Oglethorpe University.
– By Nathaniel Ludewig
nludewi@emory.edu
