A Captains Perspective of SWATCA

By: Sarah Phillips

It has been nine years since I went to my first SWATCA event as a rookie player. Now, I am writing this from a totally different perspective, one where you have no control, only prayers for your team. I sit down in a much warmer environment, two weeks, from where eleven women from Florida went to bring a championship home. Nine players, one captain and two directors left sunny Florida for Nashville, Tennessee to play in the fourteenth Annual South Eastern Women’s Amateur Team Championship. We left with high hopes and turtlenecks.

When the team played their practice round, the average temperature was 73 degrees. This temperature would not last long. The first day was dicey; it was cool, but not bad. It rained, but not much. After day one it would put Diane Lang and Taffy Brower along with Terrell Italiano and Suzy Strock each earning a point. Nancy Smith along with rookie Reggie Parker would earn the hardest half point I have seen in all my years at SWATCA. Smith and Parker were two down with three to go. Reggie made birdie on sixteen and a clutch par on seventeen to push the match to the last hole. Nancy Smith just missed her birdie putt on eighteen and Tennessee made a fifteen footer to halve the match. Unfortunately, Ann Pohira and Sisi Hedges ran into a buzz saw from North Carolina. So after the first day, Florida stood in second place with 2.5 points behind Alabama with 3 points.

Day two at SWATCA is easily the most interesting with the format being alternate shot. Suzy Strock and Terrell Italiano went out as a strong team, but again ran into the same North Carolina buzz saw. Taffy Brower and Ann Pohira as well as Diane Lang and MJ Heistand won their matches. Again, Nancy Smith and new partner Sisi Hedges went all eighteen holes against Tennessee. This time however, we lost on the last hole. So after two days team Florida was sitting in second place with 4.5 points and Alabama with 6.

Tuesday night is skit night and Team Florida paid tribute to our captain of the last nine years Marcia Miletti. Although she was not there in person she was with us in spirit and every other team appreciated our show of respect. The bad news of the night was the falling temperature. The last day of SWATCA is individual match play, basically it is a free for all. The last team standing will win.

When our lead player Reggie Parker teed off against the leader, Alabama, there was no need for jackets. By the time the rest of team Florida teed off, we needed more than our outerwear. Reggie beat Alabama and we were off and running. The news kept coming back to me that Alabama was falling like the Berlin Wall, but unfortunately so was the weather conditions. Our team members were freezing and wet. If it only were a few degrees cooler it probably would have snowed. Through all of this bad weather MJ Heisatand, Diane Lang, Ann Pohira and Reggie Parker won their matches. We were now looking at a playoff against North Carolina. I had chosen my two players whom would represent us, but what? Why do you all care about the second to last match Florida vs. Tennessee? What do you mean Tennessee has won all but one of their matches?

Yep, we went down eighteen again for the third day in a row against Tennessee. Tennessee won that match against us and won the whole tournament. If Florida can not win I am glad the winners had to go through us to get there. It may be forgotten by the stats, but we all know they had to go through Florida to win and it took them 54 holes to do it.

So, as Terrell I taliano was coming up eighteen I told her to halve the match with Alabama because it would have no consequence on the outcome of the winner. By this time, it was a warm 45 degrees and the rain had stopped. It was now time to get the team dry and fed.

It should be noted that I was extremely proud of this team and their efforts. I know we will win next year on our home soil. They say history repeats itself and if that is true the last time we lost to Tennessee by 1.5 points we came home to Florida the next year and won.

We as a team would like to thank our two lone rangers, Jeanette and Zo Sullivan for coming up to Nashville and dealing with the terrible weather. No matter what the conditions, they were there for us and we thank you!

For more information on the 2007 SWATCA championship, contact the FWSGA offices at (813) 864-2130 or www.fwsga.org.