Wake Forest Athletics
Prieto Excels In Difficult Conditions At NCAA Championships
6/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
June 29, 2000
By Jay Reddick
Marta Prieto is never one to back away from a challenge. Many teams, including the Deacons, had problems shooting good scores at the Sunriver Resort, the host course for the NCAA Championships. The winds were swirling all week, and the high elevation made shots fly farther, which some players had trouble adjusting to.
But Prieto never blinked, finishing at 4-over-par 292 for four rounds, good for third among all individuals. It was the best finish any Deacon ever had at nationals.
"It was a fun tournament to play," Prieto said. "It was a little windy, and that made it a little more of a challenge to play, more interesting. You feel better when you play good in tough conditions. And the area was incredible to look at."
Wake Forest coach Dianne Dailey echoed Prieto's sentiments.
"This tournament showed what a true competitor Marta is," Dailey said. "She hit the ball so well all week long, and she just looked like she wanted to win. Marta adjusted her game for the winds - something most of the other players couldn't do."
This was not a case of a player getting a few lucky breaks on the way to a good score. Prieto has had the talent to excel ever since she came to Wake Forest from Sevilla, Spain, in the fall of 1997. She won the Spanish under-18 championship in 1995 and then the Spanish National Amateur in 1997. However, despite an ACC title in 1998, she admits she hasn't played her best golf since she came to school here.
"I haven't been playing great at all. I played much better in Spain," Prieto said. "The reasons for that are a little bit of everything: being in a foreign country, having to concentrate on classes, the extra practice time, maybe the language a little bit.
"I played great (at NCAAs), and I was really pleased, but it was nothing I hadn't done before. I was kind of surprised I was third. I played well, but there was no feeling of 'Oh my God, I never played like this.'"
Some of that may also have to do with how busy Prieto stays. As a member of the Spanish national team, she spends at least part of every summer traveling throughout Europe playing in tournaments. Her busiest time may have been the summer of '98, when she flew in 43 planes.
"You get used to it, but you do get really tired sometimes," Prieto said. "You're so focused on doing well that it can get a little serious, especially considering it's the summer, but you don't think about it much while it's going on."
And that's a break time for her. During the school year, Prieto has enough to worry about between golf and schoolwork.
"As an economics major, I have to study hard," Prieto said. "We get back on a Sunday after a tournament, and I can be up until 6 studying if I have a test or something."
This summer, Prieto is doing a little of both. She's taking classes - and a break from golf - during the first session of summer school, then headed home to spend July and August preparing for the World Team Championships, to be played in Germany in late August.
"They have to see me play, along with the other Spaniards who play here (Maria Beautell and Nuria Clau) and some others who play at other universities, so they can pick the team," Prieto said.
Prieto, who now speaks nearly flawless English, faced a bit of a language barrier when she first came to Wake Forest, but that was nothing compared to what she hears at other tournaments around Europe. Still, she managed to make some great friends on her travels.
"We play against people from Italy, England, lots of Scandinavian countries," Prieto said. "Many of them speak English, but even before I knew English, we had a good time. Somehow, you just get to know the people. We would all hang out together, but it was more a case where we know we're doing the same thing, we're studying, we're playing golf, we knew each other without having to talk too much. When I went back (after learning English), it was nice to be able to talk to these people I had known for so long."
When Prieto gets back to Winston-Salem in the fall, she'll see plenty of familiar faces. Only one senior, Kelly Kirwin, is leaving the core that started most of last year, and so Prieto sees nothing but good times ahead.
"It's been a better team this year than we've had in the past," Prieto said. "We've just got to build on it."
