| Stephanie Cooper |
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Truly one of the dynamic young coaches in all of college golf, Missouri Head Women's Golf Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer has led Mizzou to unprecedented heights in her first four years at the helm of the Tiger program. She has brought a level of energy and enthusiasm to the table that is infectious and inspiring. That energy and excitement was certainly evident this year as the Tigers completed one of the most successful women's golf campaigns in school history which culminated with Mizzou's first appearance at the NCAA National Championships in school history.
Priesmeyer has led Mizzou to NCAA Regional Competition in three of the four years she has been at the helm. The Tigers used a record-third place finish at the NCAA Central Regional this season to make the jump to the NCAA Championships. Under her leadership, the Tigers have recorded five of the six lowest 54-hole totals and nine of the ten lowest 18-hole team scores in school history. They have also recorded three first place finishes in each of the last two seasons and have shattered the team 54-hole stroke average record in each of those two seasons (303.0 in 2003-04 and 300.4 in 2004-05). Over the course of past four seasons, Priesmeyer has led the Tigers to 36 top-10 finishes and 24 top-3 finishes.
Priesmeyer's approach to teaching the game of golf is to get the maximum output of talent from each individual on the squad. Under her watchful eye, several individuals had record setting seasons in 2004-05. Senior Maria Ohlsson and junior Denise Knaebel were named Honorable Mention All-America for their outstanding efforts over the course of the 2004-05 season. Ohlsson earned All-Big 12 honors twice and recorded her first career win this past season at the Lady Northern Classic where she fired a school record round of 66 in the second 18 on her way to the title. She also holds the school record for lowest 54-hole total with her total of 214 at the Las Vegas Collegiate Shootout in 2003. Knaebel holds the school record for lowest season 18-hole stroke average (74.60 in 2003-04) and also earned All-Big 12 First Team honors earlier this season for the second straight year.
The Tigers have also gotten it done in the classroom over the course of the last four years. Coach Priesmeyer's commitment to academics and the success the student-athletes experience in all facets of their lives has translated into members of the Mizzou squad earning spots on the Academic All-Big 12 Team nine times and on the National Golf Coaches Association All-Scholar team 12 times. Knaebel, junior Kelli Strubinger and sophomore Stephanie Wavro were once again selected to the NGCA All-Scholar team and were also named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
In fact, in each of the last four seasons under Priesmeyer's guidance, the Tigers have improved their grade point average. Mizzou recorded its best team GPA in 10 years this season with a 3.465 mark.
Missouri Women'sGolf Team Grade Point Average 1996-2005
1995-96 2.90
1996-97 3.07
1997-98 3.06
1998-99 3.10
1999-00 2.97
2000-01 3.07
2001-02 3.04
2002-03 3.31
2003-04 3.32
2004-05 3.47
In 2003-04, Mizzou finished in the top three in seven of the 11 tournaments they competed in. Priesmeyer also led the Tigers to their first tournament championship under her tutelage at the Illinois State Redbird Classic in the fall. Mizzou would go on to finish first in three tournaments on the year and also set the MU record (which was erased by the 2004-05 squad) for lowest team stroke average (303.0.)
With the success the Tigers experienced during the regular season, the coaches from around the Big 12 voted Priesmeyer the Big 12 Coach of the Year, her first such honor. Knaebel and Ohlsson were also recognized by the Big 12 for their outstanding accomplishments under the watchful eye of Priesmeyer, earning All-Big 12 First Team and Second Team honors respectively. Following the rain-shortened Big 12 Championships (in which Mizzou finished sixth), it was announced that Priesmeyer and Tigers would be headed back to NCAA Central Regional where they finished 13th.
After registering four top-10 finishes in only five tournaments in the fall of 2002, Priesmeyer's Tigers showed they belonged in the upper echelon of the Big 12 Conference with an amazing 2003 spring effort. The Tigers finished no worse than sixth in five of their seven tournaments. Mizzou's pinnacle performance came at the Big 12 Tournament when they took home runner-up honors by only one stroke to defending champion Oklahoma State. Three Tigers medaled as individuals (sophomore Mindy Bullard - 2nd, freshman Knaebel - 8th and senior Elin Ohlsson - 9th) in the competition.
Priesmeyer, a 1994 graduate of Mizzou (B.S., Education), returned to her alma mater after a very successful stint as head girls golf coach at Columbia (Mo.) Hickman High School from 1996-2001. She compiled a record of 62-15-1 over her six years at Hickman. Her Kewpies recorded four district championships (1995, '96, '99, '00), and top-10 state championship finishes in five of six years (4th in 1995; 2nd in 1996; 6th in 1997; 7th in 1999 and 8th in 2000).
Priesmeyer also served as the Hickman boys golf coach from 1998-2000, and compiled a record of 39-13-4 in that three-year span, notching two district championships (1999, '00) and three top-10 state showings (5th in 1998; 10th in 1999 and 6th in 2000). She also amassed a 56-5 record the last three years as head coach of the Hickman girls junior varsity basketball team. Along with her high school coaching, Priesmeyer has served as an instructor for the Perche Creek Junior Golf Camps.
A native of Seymour, Ind., Priesmeyer played golf at MU for former coaches Mary Scott and Tom Loyd, who has worked with the program as a volunteer coach for the last four seasons, from 1990-94. A multiple-time Dean's List honoree, Priesmeyer was named academic All-Big Eight as a senior in 1994. The former Stephanie Cooper was married in January of 2005 to husband Scott. The couple resides in Columbia, MO.
