Franklin Regional grad Caroline Tragesser sets sights on helping Ohio Dominican women's golf make NCAAs

There is one distinction no one can take away from Caroline Tragesser when it comes to her place in the history of Ohio Dominican women’s golf: In the 21-year history of the program — all under coach Chris Deibel — the Franklin Regional grad is the first player from Pennsylvania.

And, so far, the only one.

“It’s kind of crazy that it happened to me that way,” said the sophomore.

Suffice it to say Tragesser wants to leave more than that novelty as her legacy. And as the Panthers’ schedule hurtles toward the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship, she is working toward putting her name on a different piece of history: ODU’s first NCAA Division II tournament berth.

Tragesser and the Panthers made one step last season, qualifying for the program’s first NCAA Regional.

She also had a role in a pair of record-setting rounds. In the opening match of the 2022-23 season, the Charleston Golden Eagle Invitational, Tragesser’s 76 was part of a team score of 306, a program record. The Panthers followed that with a 308 — Tragesser contributed an 82 — for a two-day total of 614, another record.

The team broke the two-round record again this season, but more on that later.

Individually, after averaging 82 per 18 holes last season, Tragesser takes a 78.1 average into Monday’s NC4K Classic hosted by the Panthers. Her low round of the season — and her college career — is a 71, which she shot while qualifying for her spot on the team.

She shot a 72 in the second round of the ODU Champions of Women’s Golf event in the fall for her low competition round.

Perhaps her most impressive statistic? She has earned a spot in the Panthers’ lineup for every match in her season-plus at the Columbus, Ohio, school.

Deibel immediately was impressed by Tragesser’s work ethic.

He said she sent him some video while putting out recruiting feelers during her junior year then sent another during the fall of her senior year at Franklin Regional. The longtime coach said he could see how much her swing had improved.

“I like people that work hard, and I could tell she worked really hard on her game in just that brief period when she first reached out to the second contact,” Deibel said.

Tragesser comes by her golf skills honestly. Her father and older brother, both named Chuck, are players, and Tragesser said she had a club in her hand by the time she was 5.

But her golf career almost wasn’t. Tragesser admitted she started to lose her zest in the sport and stopped playing in middle school.

“I didn’t really like it anymore,” she said. “I wasn’t interested in it. I wanted to do something more ‘fun.’

“Then when I got to high school, I realized I have this foundation in golf … so that’s when I started to take it seriously and actually wanted to get better at it.”

After watching her brother commit to play at Rhode Island, she knew that’s the path she wanted to take as well.

After just one year of college golf, Tragesser has shown marked improvement. Deibel said she always had the ability to drive the ball straight and hit solid approach shots, but her putting has been a huge difference.

“She’s really good from tee to green,” he said. “Now that her short game is kind of catching up with that, that’s what’s made her season this year better than last. ... I think she takes things a little more seriously now. Not that she wasn’t working hard before, but I think this year she’s got a little more focus than she had in the past.”

Added Tragesser: “I came into last year three-putting a lot, and last fall (2023), those were basically zero. So that makes it five or six strokes better just in one part of the game.

“Confidence is a really big thing, and learning how to talk to yourself on the course is really important. That’s something I’ve grown in as well.”

Tragesser, in fact, has shown the ability to thrive under pressure. During the second round of the aforementioned Champions of Women’s Golf Classic, ODU was clinging to the lead, and Tragesser needed a strong finish to help the cause.

Deibel informed her it was crucial she par the final three holes so the Panthers could hold onto their top spot. She did, closing with a 72 and helping the team establish a 36-hole record of 602. She had opened with a 77.

In the next tournament, at Ashland, ODU again was in contention for the top spot. Tragesser wasn’t having her best day, but Deibel challenged her to finish strong, which she did, improving her first-round score by two shots and helping the Panthers tie for the title.

Tragesser said she enjoys being pushed. It’s a product of playing against her father and brother.

“They like to say they’re impressed with me, but they know I can always do better,” she said. “I feel the same way about my game, so when I have people saying the same thing and not just being like, ‘Good job,’ I like hearing that I can be pushed.

“With golf, I always play better under pressure.”

Tragesser opened the spring portion of ODU’s schedule by shooting 74-76 at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate in North Carolina and earning GMAC Women’s Golfer of the Week honors. She finished fifth overall in the event.

She is hoping she and her teammates can carry that momentum into the final two tournaments before the GMACs on April 25-27 at The Pearl Club in Owensboro, Ky. It’s the first step to what the Panthers hope is another milestone.

Tragesser said she is confident a trip to NCAAs is within reach.

“We made regionals for the first time last year as a program, so we were super excited,” she said. “And we’ve all improved, so there’s no reason we can’t make it to nationals as long as we all come together at regionals.”