TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil women's golf coach Missy Farr-Kaye won a national championship last season by convincing her players to focus on the process rather than the product.
That will remain a core part of her philosophy, but there is a glaring reality that can't be ignored as the Devils open the 2017-18 season at the Mason Rudolph Championship on Friday in Franklin, Tennessee.
"It's kind of like that big elephant in the room," Farr-Kaye said. "I told the girls, 'you're going to be asked everywhere we go all year about defending the championship. I don't want you to translate that to pressure. I want you to translate that as a compliment.'"
The Sun Devils will not shy away from their role as college golf's top dog this season. They will embrace it.
"Our mantra this year is 'Keep Dreaming,'" Farr-Kaye said. "I want them to keep dreaming about what people might think is impossible, and that would be to defend; to win again.
"I believe this group has the capability at the end of the year to be in the top eight at match play. At that point, it's anybody's game. You have to have certain things go in your favor to get to the win, but Stanford has made it to match play three years in a row. Why not us?"
Arizona State returns four of the five women who won that title last year at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, including the three players who scored in the match-play final against Northwestern: senior Roberta Liti, junior Linnea Ström and sophomore Olivia Mehaffey. Senior Sophia Zeeb also returns, as does sophomore Madison Kerley, who attended the event.
The one loss was individual national champion and emotional leader Monica Vaughn, who was beginning the 19th hole of match play against the Wildcats' Hannah Kim when Strom clinched the title. Vaughn graduated. She will be replaced by freshman Raquel Olmos Ros from Torre-Pacheco, in the autonomous region of Murcia in southeastern Spain.
"I feel like it's good motivation to look back at last year and everything we accomplished because we accomplished almost every goal we had," Strom said. "We'll use it as motivation for this year because there is so much positive energy and feelings from it, but at the same time, we know it's a new year. We have a new freshman that will travel with us this week and having a new teammate makes it a new experience for us so I think it's good to start over."
The Sun Devils have already completed qualifying for their first event, with Kerley and Olmos Ros grabbing spots along with Liti, Strom and Mehaffey.
"This is the first time I have played with Raquel and I'm really impressed by her as a player," Strom said. "She strikes the ball well, she is a good putter and she qualified for the first tournament which is really good as a freshman."
The Sun Devils open GolfWeek's preseason rankings at No. 4 behind UCLA, Stanford and Alabama. With a deep and fluid rotation, Farr-Kaye believes the Sun Devils will be in the hunt again.
"I know that all of them will play and different ones will move in and out for different reasons," she said. "I think the devil is in the details on a daily basis. They need to hold themselves and each other accountable, but our plan is to play free and work hard. When you're doing things the way you should be doing them and keeping on track, everything will take care of itself."
That will remain a core part of her philosophy, but there is a glaring reality that can't be ignored as the Devils open the 2017-18 season at the Mason Rudolph Championship on Friday in Franklin, Tennessee.
"It's kind of like that big elephant in the room," Farr-Kaye said. "I told the girls, 'you're going to be asked everywhere we go all year about defending the championship. I don't want you to translate that to pressure. I want you to translate that as a compliment.'"
The Sun Devils will not shy away from their role as college golf's top dog this season. They will embrace it.
"Our mantra this year is 'Keep Dreaming,'" Farr-Kaye said. "I want them to keep dreaming about what people might think is impossible, and that would be to defend; to win again.
"I believe this group has the capability at the end of the year to be in the top eight at match play. At that point, it's anybody's game. You have to have certain things go in your favor to get to the win, but Stanford has made it to match play three years in a row. Why not us?"
Arizona State returns four of the five women who won that title last year at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, including the three players who scored in the match-play final against Northwestern: senior Roberta Liti, junior Linnea Ström and sophomore Olivia Mehaffey. Senior Sophia Zeeb also returns, as does sophomore Madison Kerley, who attended the event.
The one loss was individual national champion and emotional leader Monica Vaughn, who was beginning the 19th hole of match play against the Wildcats' Hannah Kim when Strom clinched the title. Vaughn graduated. She will be replaced by freshman Raquel Olmos Ros from Torre-Pacheco, in the autonomous region of Murcia in southeastern Spain.
"I feel like it's good motivation to look back at last year and everything we accomplished because we accomplished almost every goal we had," Strom said. "We'll use it as motivation for this year because there is so much positive energy and feelings from it, but at the same time, we know it's a new year. We have a new freshman that will travel with us this week and having a new teammate makes it a new experience for us so I think it's good to start over."
The Sun Devils have already completed qualifying for their first event, with Kerley and Olmos Ros grabbing spots along with Liti, Strom and Mehaffey.
"This is the first time I have played with Raquel and I'm really impressed by her as a player," Strom said. "She strikes the ball well, she is a good putter and she qualified for the first tournament which is really good as a freshman."
The Sun Devils open GolfWeek's preseason rankings at No. 4 behind UCLA, Stanford and Alabama. With a deep and fluid rotation, Farr-Kaye believes the Sun Devils will be in the hunt again.
"I know that all of them will play and different ones will move in and out for different reasons," she said. "I think the devil is in the details on a daily basis. They need to hold themselves and each other accountable, but our plan is to play free and work hard. When you're doing things the way you should be doing them and keeping on track, everything will take care of itself."