NIU women’s golf received a big boost this season from freshman Connie Ellett, who stepped up and became its second best golfer in the fall.

Ellett currently holds the second lowest average on the team with 80.25 strokes per round, which is only two behind senior leader Allie Parthie. Ellett had her season-best fifth place finish at the Cardinal Classic, posting a total score of 153 strokes. In her Huskie debut at the Green Bay invite, she finished with a 156 stroke effort, which was good enough for a ninth place finish.

She also posted a season-low, 76, at the Cardinal Classic which was the second best single round performance by a Huskie golfer this year.

Coach Kim Kester said that Ellett performed well in the first half of the season and never looked back.

“She has done extremely well and came out strong,” Kester said. “She continued to do that, we only had four tournaments but started out well and that is what you want to see out of a freshman.”

Ellett said overall she is happy with her play in the first half but knows she can still improve on her overall game.

“I thought my play in the first half was pretty consistent,” Ellett said. “[I had] only one bad round, but you are going to have that as a freshman. There are going to be ups and downs. I was pretty happy with it but it could have been better. Coach is giving [me] a lot of things to work on before spring and I am excited to get better.”

Kester loves Ellett’s work ethic and believes it is a big reason for her success.

“She is really competitive and likes to win,” Kester said. “You combine those and you get someone that really wants to do well. How hard you work is what you get out of it, and she obviously puts a lot of work in. If she continues to do the same work she is doing now, she is going to be one of the best golfers in NIU history.”

Ellett believes her round of 91 at Chicago State has helped her with game.

“I was pretty impressed with myself after having that bad round, I came back the next day and shot ten shots better,” Ellett said. “Then I had a top five finish at Ball State. It shows me that I can bounce back. Even if I do have a bad round I am strong enough that I can come back from that.”

Kester will look for Connie to continue her level of play from the fall in the spring.

“Expectations for Connie [Ellett] are for her to finish the spring the way she finished out the fall,” Kester said. “[I want her to] lower her scoring average and to get better in all aspects of her game. She is currently on the right path for that. Her putting is alright but we need to work on her chipping aspect.”