Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Women's Golf Signs Three for 2012
12/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Dec. 8, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana University head women's golf coach Clint Wallman announced today that Marissa DeCola (Butler, Pa.), Maria Mancini (Poland, Ohio) and Eva Schoenwald (Hennef, Germany) have chosen to continue their careers at IU beginning with the 2012-13 season.
"I am very excited about the 2012 class," Wallman said. "Eva, Maria and Marissa each bring extensive competitive experience and I look for them to make an immediate impact when they arrive on campus. I really believe they have the opportunity to be one of the top recruiting classes in the nation."
DeCola hails from Butler High School where she has been a four-year team captain. She qualified for the state tournament all four years, earning top-10 finishes as a sophomore, junior and senior, capping her career with a fourth-place finish in 2011. DeCola was also the Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletics Association district champion in 2011.
"Marissa is a rising young player out of Pennsylvania who I believe will be an elite player in the Big Ten and on the national stage," Wallman said. "She is an extremely hard worker who has succeeded at every level and is determined to have a remarkable career. She has improved each year and I see that trend continuing when she gets to Bloomington."
A qualifier for the 2011 U.S. Girls Junior Championship, DeCola was the Women's Western Pennsylvania Championship winner and won the International Junior Golf Tour at Hershey Country Club in 2011. Overall she finished with 11 top-10 finishes in the 2011 season.
Mancini was a four-time first-team all-conference selection out of Poland Seminary High School, along with a three-time North East Ohio Golf Coaches first-team honoree. In 2011 Mancini was a sectional medalist, while in 2009 she was the district runner-up. In 2008 she helped lead Poland Seminary to a Division II state title, as well as three state runner-up finishes (2009, 2010, 2011).
"Maria has established herself as one of the best young players in Ohio," Wallman said. "Her game has really matured over the course of the last couple of years and I can really see her having an outstanding collegiate career. She is a fabulous ball striker who simply doesn't get into trouble on the course. Her consistency gives her a lot of scoring opportunities and I look for her to post a lot of low numbers as a Hoosier. Like her freshman classmates I believe that Maria will be one of the best players in the Big Ten."
Mancini holds the school, course and conference nine-hole scoring record of 31 and earned first team all-state honors in 2010 and second-team accolades in 2011. She was the first four-time state qualifier in school history.
Schoenwald comes to the Hoosiers from Staedtisches Gymnasium Hennef, where her women's team plays in the German Bundesliga (first division). Schoenwald placed second at the Austrian Juniors Golf Tour Tournament and was fourth at the Girls German Championship (under 16).
"Eva is a strong, athletic young lady who can hit the ball a long way," Wallman said. "She has the opportunity to shorten a golf course with her length and give herself a lot of scoring opportunities. I can see her shooting some really low numbers which will always put her in contention to win at any event in which she plays."
