As a high school golfer, Heather Kraus was unstoppable. The Sacred Heart Academy golfer won the 1993 and 1994 Kentucky High School State Championships.
Kraus was selected to All-State Team from 1990-94 and was also the 1994 recipient of the Miss Kentucky Golf award.
Kraus was also effective outside of scholastic competition.
But that was high school.
In Kraus' words, college "is a huge difference." After being recruited heavily by a number of schools, Kraus chose to attend UK primarily because of its proximity to her home town of Louisville.
She also chose UK because head coach Bettie Lou Evans tends to keep a relatively small team.
"Coach usually keeps nine to 10 girls," Kraus said. "Some of the other schools have as many as 12 to 14, which is bad when you can only take five girls to a tournament."
During her freshman season, Kraus wanted to gain experience on the collegiate level by playing in as many tournaments as she could. She finished the year having played in four matches.
Now in her sophomore season, Kraus continues to gain experience and improve her game. But there have been some adjustments since her days in high school.
"The biggest difference in college is the length of the courses you play," she said
The greater length has forced Kraus to make some changes in her swing, which have lead to some inconsistencies in her play.
"Coach (Evans) says when you watch me, you never know what you'll see," Kraus said. "One day I'll play a solid round and have a decent score. Then, the next day I will shoot bogies on a bunch of holes and birdies on a bunch of holes and end up with the same score."
Despite the inconsistency, Kraus has managed to more her way up to the No. 3 position on the roster. This puts her behind junior Laurie Berles and senior Kristen Krogsrud. When Krogsrud's eligibility expires next year, Kraus hopes to grab the No. 2 or even the top spot.
The women's golf team travels to Myrtle Beach, S.C., this weekend for the Carolyn Cudone Tournament, hosted by Coastal Carolina. The three-day tourney will be the Cats' last of the fall season.