W. Golf | Katrina can't kill Vitter birdies

Confidence. Every athlete wants it. Every golfer needs it. Lisette Vitter has it.

Before coming to Penn, the New Orleans native and junior captain of the Penn women's golf team blossomed at Metairie Park Country Day School and was recruited by multiple Division I golf programs.

However, Vitter has had to deal with more than the occasional bogie.

"During my senior year . Hurricane Katrina hit," she said. "I had gone to school for about a week, not even, and then we had to evacuate to Florida."

Vitter remembers the stressful moments. She remembers the uncertainty and the confusion when talking to colleges.

"I didn't have my transcripts - no one had my transcripts - I didn't know where they were," she said. "[The school was] flooded, but I think somebody at the school had electronic copies of them."

After spending time in Florida, Vitter and her family moved to Atlanta, Ga., where the Westminster School welcomed her. Vitter spent her entire senior year of high school in Atlanta before moving back to New Orleans.

But Vitter has found a stable home at Penn, and has brought her stellar golf game along for the ride.

"I guess I had the confidence that I could make a lot of friends and settle into a new setting without any problems," she said. "I think playing on the golf team helped, too, because it gave me the few people I could immediately associate with and relate to. I love being at Penn. I'm so glad I came here."

And Penn loves her.

In her freshman and sophomore seasons, Vitter competed in all of Penn's events and was the team's top finisher in 10 of her 14 events.

Since her arrival on campus, she has had the most success of any Penn golfer at the women's Ivy League Championships, finishing 13th overall as a freshmen and eighth overall as a sophomore.

Vitter praised Penn's first-year coach, Mark Anderson, for his enthusiasm and coaching style.

"We absolutely love the new coach," she said. "He makes us work really hard, but I think that it pays off. He's really fun to be around and does a great job at coaching."

Anderson, who calls Vitter the "star of the team," believes that the less-experienced Quakers are in good hands with Vitter at the helm.

"They all have been working well together, so I would definitely say that she has helped show them the ropes," Anderson said.

The junior captain has offered advice to her younger teammates and continues to help the freshmen make a smooth transition to the collegiate game.

"Just reinforcing the fact that yes they have good golf games and that they should be confident," Vitter said. "I think that instilling confidence in them is important because that's ultimately going to help the entire team and help them become stronger players."

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