Indiana University Athletics
Jenny Kim Transfers To Indiana
8/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Aug. 10, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Jenny Kim will transfer from Middle Tennessee State to Indiana and play for the women's golf team, Indiana head coach Clint Wallman announced. While Kim will be able to practice with the Hoosiers this season, NCAA rules prohibit her from playing in tournaments during the 2005-06 campaign. Therefore, she will begin her junior season of eligibility in the fall of 2006.
"We are very excited to have Jenny join the IU golf family," Wallman said. "She is a relatively new player having played for only five years, but has demonstrated major success competing at a Division I level as well as capturing her high school state championship. She will have the opportunity to work within our program for this coming year and I see her being a key contributor for the future."
Kim will be the first Korean-born player to ever play with the women's golf team at IU. She competed for two years while at Middle Tennessee State, averaging an 80.0 per 18 holes. Last season, she played in seven tournaments, averaging an 80.1 per 18 holes. As a freshman, Kim was one of three players to compete in every tournament during the season, averaging an 80.0 per 18 holes. She also had a career-best round of 73 at the Sun Belt Conference Championship where she tied for 21st overall.
Kim went to MTSU after a stellar high school career at King's Academy (Tenn.) where she was an all-state, all-region and all-county selection, while playing at the No. 2 position for the boys team. Kim also captured the 2002 Division II Girls State Championship, as well as the 2002 Sevier County Golf Championship, the 2001 Rocky Top Classic, the Vince Gill Junior Tour and the Landmark at Avalon.
Kim becomes the fifth member of the 2005 Indiana recruiting class, which has Wallman excited for the future of IU golf. Kim joins senior transfer Shannon Johnson and freshmen Tara Boone, Tiffany Hockensmith and Amber Lindgren as members of the class.
Over the summer, Johnson competed well in two tournaments and proved she was going to be a big commodity for the Hoosiers in 2005-06. Her summer was highlighted by claiming a third consecutive South Dakota Golf Association Women's Stroke Play championship on July 18. In doing so, Johnson became just the seventh woman in state history to win at least three straight stroke play titles, and the first since Kris Tschetter of Sioux Falls accomplished the feat from 1983-86.
She also had a good showing at the United States Women's Amateur Public Links (USWAPL) Championship on July 12-14. While at the USWAPL, Johnson made it to the round of 16 by defeating ninth-seeded Ashley Grier, 5 and 4.
While at New Mexico, Johnson started in all 11 tournaments in 2003-04, receiving Mountain West All-Conference honors for a second consecutive year. She finished the campaign ranked No. 85 in the nation by Golf Week and No. 90 by Golfstat. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native had a career-best finish at the 2004 Mountain West Championship, placing second overall with a personal-best three-under par 213. She also made her debut at the NCAA Championship, carding a 20-over par 308 to tie for 93rd. She finished the year with an average of 75.38 per round and five top-20 finishes.
Hockensmith, a product of Bloomington South High School, also performed well over the summer and showed a glimpse of things to come. Hockensmith claimed the 2005 Bloomington Herald Times City Women's Championship by claiming a 4 and 2 victory over Whitney Whaley, who was the tournament's defending champion. Additionally, she tied for fifth overall at the Indiana state championship.
While at South, she was tabbed the 2003 Mountain Dew Player of the Year and was one of eight females selected to the Tri-State Challenge team in 2003 and 2004. The talented performer from Bloomington, Ind., was a contender in many tournaments during her high school career, highlighted by capturing the 2003 Indiana Girls State Juniors championship, as well as winning the Plantations Junior Golf Tournament in 2004. Additionally, Hockensmith was a sectional medalist in 2003 and was named 2003 team MVP.
Boone will come to Indiana from Huntington North High School where she earned all-state honors in 2003 and 2004, as well as all-conference honors in each of her four seasons. During her senior season, Boone won three tournaments for the Vikings, including the Indiana Sectionals, marking the third consecutive year she claimed sectional medalist honors. Boone was named team MVP and played at the No. 1 spot all four years. Throughout high school, Boone claimed 13 event titles.
Lindgren will also remain in the state of Indiana, where she was a four-time letterwinner at Western high school. In 2004, Lindgren played her way to the individual championship of the Indiana Girls State Tournament, where she also finished runner-up in 2003, on her way to receiving the Indiana Golf Tour Player of the Year honors. In addition, the Huntington, Ind., product was named as a Future Collegians World Tour (FCWT) second team All-American. She averaged a 73.9 as a junior and 74.4 as a senior, including a career-low round of 67 in the final qualifying round of the Girls State Juniors at the Players Club in Muncie, Ind. She was also a four-year all-conference, all-sectional, all-regional and all-state performer, as well as a member of the National Honor Society.
"We have a great mix this year," Wallman continued. "Our returning players have the experience of college golf and have been successful. Mix them with a talented recruiting class and we are going to be competitive in every tournament we enter. I see us challenging for several tournament titles and getting better with each event."
