University of Tennessee Athletics
SCHNEEBERGER'S ADJUSTMENT WAS A TOUGH ONE
April 10, 2002 | Women's Golf
April 10, 2002
By Justin Gallagher
The transition from high school to college for most freshmen athletes at Tennessee is a serious leap. The constant juggling of a UT athlete's class work, athletic responsibilities and social life can make the first year difficult.
But for Lady Vol golfer Tina Schneeberger, her experience four years ago as a freshman was a huge adjustment. It was a journey across the globe and a drastic change in culture.
"The first year was really hard," said Schneeberger, a senior from WR-Neustadt, Austria. "I had a hard time coping with all of the cultural differences. I actually thought about going home after the first year, but I decided to give it another try."
"Looking back, even though I had some really rough times, I absolutely don't regret it and would do it again."
Lady Vol golf coach Judi Pavon is glad that the Austrian stuck around in Knoxville after her freshman year. As of April 3, Schneeberger was ranked 38th in the nation as an individual collegiate competitor, and UT stands at No. 6 nationally as a squad.
"Tina came to UT as a pretty good player," Pavon said. "She's just matured and trusted herself and has confidence in her abilities. Tina works really hard -- especially this year. I have found out that the team will watch her and follow her example. Her work ethic carries over to the rest of the team."
In terms of all-time career totals at UT, the Austrian is second in rounds under par (15), fourth in rounds (108) and fifth in Top-10 finishes (12).
This season, Schneeberger is second on the Lady Vols in average with 76.30 strokes per round. She placed second and helped Tennessee to fifth-place tie at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational in February with a career-low finish of 4-under 212, shooting rounds of 69 (a career-low), 74 and 69. That three-day total tied her with fellow senior Young-A Yang for the second-best, 54-hole finish in UT history. In November of 2001, the Austrian finished tied for eighth at the Auburn Derby with a total of 223, helping UT place third at the tournament. The finish at the Auburn Derby marked the third-consecutive tournament in which Schneeberger had ended up in the Top-10.
"In the fall, I was pretty satisfied with my play, except for two or three rounds that just got out of control," she said. "Other than those two or three rounds, I played really well."
After a slow start to the spring season, Pavon expects Schneeberger to revert back to her stellar play from the fall.
"Tina is a huge key to our success," the head coach said. "If she doesn't play well, we struggle. She's such a pivotal player to our team, so we need Tina at her best."
With the Bryan National Collegiate tournament, the SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championships still remaining, Schneeberger said UT still has plenty of goals it wants to achieve this season.
"This is our last competition before the SEC tournament, Regionals and Nationals," she said of the Bryan National Collegiate, which is in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Since we're coming off of two bad and disappointing tournaments, this will be a chance to get back our confidence. It should be a step towards our goal."
"We want to win the SEC Championship, which will be hard because Auburn is ranked No. 1, but any team is beatable. We have a good team this year, and we just need to continue to believe in ourselves."
When she's not hitting the fairways or tapping in for birdie, Schneeberger is excelling in the classroom at UT. A business administration major, the senior has been named to the National Golf Coaches Association Academic All-America team the past two seasons. Schneeberger said she also wants to pursue a graduate degree in business in the future. In addition to her exploits in the classroom, the senior speaks three languages fluently -- English, French and German.
After she completes her career at UT on the golf course and graduates in May, the Austrian said she wants to return to Europe and play golf.
"I'm still a part of the Austrian National Team," she said. "I'll play in a lot of international tournaments in Europe during the summer. The big tournament at the end of the summer is in October at the World Championships, and hopefully I'll be picked for that to play for Austria. Then in November, it's the tour school to qualify for the Evian Tour, which is the European Ladies Tour."
"I want to go over there (Europe) and see how it goes, and if I'm successful, I'll probably come back just because the LPGA tour is so competitive."
For Pavon, watching the senior's development into a consistent performer on the golf course has been rewarding.
"She has been a pleasure to coach," Pavon said. "She was really homesick at first, and now to see her getting ready to graduate, turn pro or get a job is special as a coach. She's a very intelligent person. Tina has been a great player for us, and we'll really miss her next year."
Ironically -- four years after being blown away by the differences between Tennessee and Austria -- it'll be a part of American culture that Schneeberger will miss when she returns to Europe.
"It amazes me how much Americans are interested in sports and how much it means to them," she said. "It's really hard for Europeans to understand that and see it as a culture. I'll miss that, especially because I'm an athlete and I want to play golf professionally."
