Nov. 10, 2010
The Missouri women's golf team has signed Laura Kraft and Alina Rogers to National Letters of Intent, as announced on Wednesday by Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer. The two will join the Tigers in the fall of 2011.
"Today is a very exciting day in that we get to announce two of our new players for the fall of 2011," Priesmeyer said. "Alina Rogers and Laura Kraft are very solid athletes, golfers, and most importantly amazing young ladies and they will make an impact on our team as soon as they step foot on campus."
Kraft is a three-time North Dakota Class A State Champion for Jamestown High School in Jamestown, N.D. She is the first three-time Class A Champion in the 45-year history of North Dakota High School Golf. Kraft had a two-round total of 147 (72-75) to win by three shots at the 2010 State Championship. She claimed a four-shot victory in 2009 and recorded the second-lowest score in North Dakota State Championship history (145) in the 2008 tournament.
Kraft recorded 20 high school wins and was named the 2010 North Dakota Powerade Senior Athlete of the Year. She was a five-time All-State and All-Conference selection and was a four-time East-West Classic Champion. Kraft had the top scoring average in the state in 2008, 2009 and 2010. She shot a career-low 68 in round one of the 2010 North Dakota State Amateur, on the way to winning the event.
"I knew right away when I visited with Laura and her parents, Dean & Carrie, that she was going to be a great fit here at Mizzou," Priesmeyer said. "She is the type of student-athlete that we strive to sign. She is dedicated to her sport and excels in the classroom. Laura carries a 4.0 grade-point average, is No. 1 in her class and has already been accepted into Mizzou's Honors Program."
Rogers won the Ontario High School Championship and the Ontario Ladies Four Ball Championship this past year. She also claimed four titles on the Plantation Junior Golf Tour. Rogers placed seventh at the 2009 Ontario Ladies Amateur Championship, which included a career-low round of 74. She finished 26th at the Canadian Junior Nationals in 2009.
Rogers had a stroke average of 75 at Stephen Lewis Secondary School in Toronto, Canada. She moved to Toronto from Germany in 2007. She participated in events in Germany and Scotland, as well as playing Ladies Team Golf at Brodauer Golf Club in Neustadt, Germany. Rogers has also been a part of the Beacon Hall Scholarship program since 2008. She was the first female caddy in the Beacon Hall program and she became the first Beacon Hall caddy to receive a scholarship to a Division I school.
"Alina is a very gifted athlete that I really enjoyed recruiting," Priesmeyer said. "She has so much passion for the game and is so competitive. She had a very successful summer in that she won four National events in the U.S. and two back home. She is a true student of the game and spends her free time caddying for the members of her golf club, Beacon Hill in Ontario. Alina is so excited about being a Tiger and helping our program excel!"