Simplifying the Game
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Fresh off a nine-under-par performance at team-qualifiers a week ago, Franziska Sliper is looking to carry momentum into the University of Miami golf team’s first official tournament of the year on Sunday.
Placing tied-for-second among her nine teammates over the strenuous five-day event, Sliper was the lone Hurricane to shoot under-par (-1, -3, -3, -1, -1) in all five rounds at the Biltmore Hotel and Golf Course. Set to tee off at 8:30 a.m at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla., the second-year student-athlete brings experience to the Eagle Creek Golf Club, one year removed from competing at the event for the first time.
“There are definitely some holes where you can make birdie, but also others where it’s important to play smart and think about what shots to hit,” Sliper said. “My goal heading into the event is not to think of what others are doing and to play my own game. Focus on what I can control and do my best.
“[At qualifiers] I felt like I played great and gave myself a lot of chances,” Sliper added. “It was good to finally feel like things were going in the right direction. The first day for me was the most important and set the tone for the rest of the week. It was all about keeping the momentum going and I was happy I was able to stay consistent for the other days.”
As a freshman, Sliper participated in 17 of a possible 20 rounds prior to the 2019-20 campaign being halted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, she ranked 48th in the ACC and fifth on the team with a 3.47 relative to par score.
However, with the season unexpectedly cut short Sliper looked to make the most of the opportunity and returned home to Stavanger, Norway, to spend time with her family, as well as try and fine-tune her golf game.
“I really just tried to focus on rebuilding my game,” Sliper said. “I felt like I had lost some confidence in my game and I wanted to get back to consistency and good golf. My main focus was getting my swing back to where I wanted it, to focus on staying on plane and keep it there. I put much training into that, but also focused much on the mental part of the game. I had trouble with controlling my thoughts and was just overall thinking about way too many things on the course. The break from competing helped to lift some of the pressure I felt from performing well and reminded me why I play golf. It was really mostly about making the game as simple and fun as possible.
“My family and I have always been close,” Sliper added. “I know that I can count on them for anything and that they will always be there for me no matter what. Moving to the U.S. definitely strengthened this bond even more, as I have learned how lucky I am to have such great people around me. I enjoy being away from my family for a while, but I am very excited every time I get to go back. Especially with the pandemic, I found it important to be with them and to cherish that extra time we normally wouldn’t have.”
While back at home, Sliper was reminded of those cherished moments she had from a young age, learning the game of golf with her father and older brother. Then around the age of seven, her parents enrolled the multi-sport athlete into a weekly golf training session, where her passion for the sport took off.
“My earliest memories are that my parents made me go to a weekly junior golf training, even though I really didn’t want to go,” Sliper recalled with a laugh. “But every time I was there I had such a great time and they really knew what was best for me. The environment in the junior group of my golf club was great and I have many good memories from that time.
“[Along with golf], I tried many different sports growing up,” Sliper continued. “It was all sorts of things, like ballet, tennis, other forms of dance and soccer. When I was around 11 I decided that golf was what I wanted to focus on and I began going to the golf course more than just once a week. That was when I began seeing results and it further motivated me to keep going.”
The motivation later led to collegiate offers and the opportunity to be the first of her family to study and compete abroad in the United States. When deciding on the school that would be the best fit for her, one of her favorite childhood past times helped play a major role.
Despite growing up in one of the largest cities in Norway, Stavanger is atypical compared to most major cities across the globe as it is surrounded by the beautiful Norwegian coast and natural habitats. Spending several summers vacationing at her family’s cabin throughout her childhood, her love for the ocean, nature and summer grew exponentially and eventually helped lead her to Coral Gables in 2019.
“I really wanted to go to a school that would have nice winters,” Sliper said. “Coming from Norway, where the golf season is only about five months, that was one of the most important things. When I played in the Orange Bowl at the Biltmore, I just knew that I wanted to go to school and practice in such an amazing place. The coaches also made coming to Miami very easy and I was glad that there would be another Norwegian player on the team who could help me if I needed anything.”
Despite a three-year class gap, the opportunity to learn the ropes from a familiar face in Renate Grimstad, who Sliper had the opportunity to play with a couple times in Norwegian amateur tournaments prior to Miami, was an added bonus.
“Renni and I knew each other prior to college, but it wasn’t until the last summer before I went to Miami that we got really close,” Sliper said. “She is a couple years older, so she was out of the junior team when I got in. When I was old enough to be with the Ladies’ team we traveled to tournaments together and really got to know each other better. She prepared me for what was to come, what I should expect, how I could deal with being away from home and so on. We competed against each other on a couple occasions and I knew that I wanted my game to evolve the way hers had.”
Along with having a close bond with Grimstad, Sliper also knew she would not be alone in the transition to the United States, now one of eight international student-athletes on the team along with nine players from seven different countries.
“I think being a part of such a diverse team is very special and is something that makes college even more fun,” Sliper said. “Everyone comes from different backgrounds and we can learn so much from each other. We all had to make the big move to a new country and understand that home may feel far away at times. I feel very lucky to be part of this team. It reminds me that there is so much out there for us to experience, both on and off the golf course.”
Continuing to grow together as a unit and build that unbreakable bond, Sliper and her teammates are excited for the future of the program that begins Sunday in Orlando.
“As a team, we all have pretty high expectations for the year and I think that we will be able to achieve so much, as long as we work hard,” Sliper said. “Going to Nationals is the goal I would love to achieve with this team, especially since I know that we have a chance to do it.
“Individually, I have set my goal to be a part of the team for every tournament. We have so many great players and it will be tough to do, but not impossible,” Sliper added. “I want to enjoy the next couple of years in college as much as possible, especially since we weren’t able to compete for such a long time. I plan to work hard and do the best that I can, and then see what happens, where my game is and what I want to do.”
Fresh off what would have been a record-breaking performance in a counting event, the Hurricanes are set to open the 2021 spring season Sunday at the par-72, 6,349 yard Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando.
The 54-hole event will stretch over a three-day period, with the first Hurricane teeing off at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Joining Sliper in qualifying for a spot in the season-opening lineup are Grimstad, Kristyna Frydlova and freshmen Sara Byrne and Nataliya Guseva.
Last season, Grimstad, a WGCA All-American and 2020 Dinah Shore Trophy Award winner, claimed her first collegiate individual title and registered the second lowest individual score in program history, tallying a 14-under 202 at the UCF Challenge.
This season, Miami will face a stiff 16-team field that features the 2019 national runner-up and ACC champion, Wake Forest, as well as Arkansas, College of Charleston, Houston, Iowa State, Kennesaw State, Kent State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NC State, Penn State, Purdue, UCF, UNC-Wilmington and Virginia.
Scores for the event will be inputted every nine holes and will be made accessible HERE.
