“Experienced youth” is the phrase women’s golf coach Julie Manning uses to describe her team this fall.

The reason behind this description is five returning letter-winners from last year’s squad, all of whom are juniors.

Two of those players, Noel Jacobusse and Heather Elenbaas, each recently competed in the Briarwood Amateur in Ankeny. They finished first and second in the event, with Jacobusse taking the medalist honors.

All the players on the squad are reaping the benefits of hard work during the summer.

New to the squad this year are Sarah Gilbert, a freshmen from Ankeny, and Laura Wells, from Dumfries, Scotland. Both are expected to play early and help the team gain immediate respect in the Big 12 Conference.

“Having major depth back is always a tremendous bright spot,” Manning said.

She is more optimistic than she has been in years past.

“It has been a long journey back up, but I have the players to be competitive,” she said.

The team also is more optimistic than it has been in the past, as it should be returning more depth than last year, and is doing something it has not done in recent years — taking unattached players with them to tournaments.

Every trip, the team will bring a full team of five golfers and also two other individuals. This will help the younger players get some experience without being thrown right in the mix.

“With the competitiveness of this year’s squad, nobody’s position is safe,” Coach Manning added.

She said this will encourage high performance from the team because there always will be people pushing others for spots on the traveling squad.

One of Manning’s goals this season is to keep her team fresh.

“Basically, the season hasn’t stopped for these girls since last February,” Manning said. “That is when the year’s spring season started and most of the girls have been playing all summer.”

The squad is practicing less this fall in an attempt to keep the team fresh.

The Cyclone golfers have four tournaments this fall. The first is this year’s Big 12 Preview, held in Lincoln, Neb., an event that Jacobusse won last year. The tournament is 36 holes on Monday and 18 more on Tuesday.

“This tournament is good because you find out where the team stacks up early,” Manning said.

The other tournaments this fall are the Lady Razorback on Sept. 20 and 21, the Heather Farr Memorial on Sept. 27 and 28 and Beacon Woods on Oct. 15, 16 and 17.

Manning said she is looking for another tournament to fill up the schedule.

In an unexpected move this season, Megan O’Day was redshirted.

Also, Cathy Ennis has been feeling pain in her arm and wrist. Early diagnoses point to a case of tendanitis, which only rest will heal.

A legitiment goal for the squad this year would be to finish in the top five or six in the conference, Manning said. Also, the women linksters would like to win a tournament or two, goals that have eluded them in the past.