Senior Starts Season Off With Wins, Has High Hopes For Future

by Chandler Thomas
4.17.07

The crowd is silent as the golfer steps up onto the tee
box. He places his golf ball on the tee and lines up his shot. He imagines the ball blazing through the air and landing gently, directly in the middle of the fairway.

Then he prepares to drive the ball off the tee and watch it fly. He shatters his tee as he swiftly strikes the ball and sends it into the air. The small crowd cheers as he watches it land in the fairway, just as he had anticipated. He proudly walks off the tee box and prepares for his next shot.

Driving the ball off the tee is only one of the many aspects of golf. Striking, chipping and putting also have to be mastered to become a great golfer. Senior Ross Friehe is on his way of mastering all of these tangibles. Winning the Lincoln High Invite, the Millard South Invite and the NGA classic so far this year,
he has hopes for a state title.

“I hope to win a state title before I head off to college,” Friehe said. “I need to end my high school career on a good note.”

Winning a state title will take hard work, along with a
lot of patience. Friehe aspires to continue his success for the entire season.

“I’m hitting the ball very well right now. I wish I was playing in the state tournament tomorrow,” Friehe said.

Friehe’s scores this season are nothing short of impressive, with a personal best of 65 strokes and a
tournament best of 68.

“If I can average around a 68 for the rest of the season then I believe I have a great chance of winning the state title,” Friehe said.

In 2007, Friehe made three visits to different colleges with aspirations of a Division-I golf scholarship. One of these visits took him a long ways from home.

“I have a good friend who lives up in Spokane, and he let me stay with him while I took a visit to Gonzaga University,” Friehe said.

Friehe’s other visits to University of Nebraska- Lincoln and the University of Kansas also interested him, but the trip to Washington had the most influence on him.

“What persuaded me into going to Gonzaga was the
coach,” Friehe said. “He is a really, really nice guy and he seemed to actually want to have a personal relationship with his players.”

Last November, Friehe signed his letter of intent to
become a Gonzaga bulldog.

“This wasn’t the toughest decision, just because I was planning on going there ever since my visit,” Friehe said. “And then they went ahead and offered me a golf scholarship, so I accepted in a heartbeat.”

Finishing the season strong before he begins to pack up and go to college is one of Friehe’s goals, but having fun and competing with his teammates are also reasons why Friehe wants to make the most out of his last season.

“I enjoy playing golf everyday with a fun group of guys,” Friehe said. “It makes practicing in the bad weather easier to endure.”

With a solid golf game, great teammates and a scholarship to Gonzaga University, Friehe has a bright future ahead of him. He hopes to never forget
his high school years.

“I want to make sure to make even more memories this season because they will be the last ones I make during my high school career,” Friehe
said.