FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern women's golfer
Liliana Cammisa recently participated in the Dixie Amateur, her first experience back on the course this season after missing the fall due to injury.
Cammisa (Jr., Alta Gracia, Cordoba, Argetina) made the cut in a field of 115 golfers, finishing in the top 60 in a tournament made up of elite amateur players.
"Considering that I hadn't played in a long time I felt like I did a good job," she said. "The days before the tournament I was feeling nervous about what was going to happen, since the last medal play round I had was seven months ago. I wasn't hitting the ball well, but I scrambled a lot to put three decent scores (out of four rounds). Although I was not happy with my ball striking overall, it is very positive that my short game and putting were good because that's what I've been trying to improve.
"It was awesome to play again, I absolutely love competing and being away from the game for so long made me learn to appreciate golf even more. I know I've come a long way since my surgery. When I came back to school after the summer break I couldn't even straighten my leg and it took me a long time to start walking normal, so right now I just want to enjoy the game as much as I can."
Cammisa finished last season ranked as the No. 5 golfer in Division II and was a WGCA All-American. Her return will surely help the Sharks, who played four fall tournaments with just the minimum amount of players.
"I'm really excited about the spring," she said. "I can't wait to start the season and to travel with the team. Winning tournaments is always a goal, but I also like focusing on other things like improving my stats from previous seasons and lowering my scoring average. My top priority is improving my putting, because I believe that putting well always puts you in contention and gives you a shot to win more tournaments. I'm aware of the fact that it is going to take me sometime to fully recover my game, so I'm going to use the beginning of the season to start feeling comfortable in the course and focus on getting to the postseason at the top of my game."
While she was unable to compete in the fall, Cammisa stayed involved with the team throughout her strenuous rehab.
"While I was out I always tried to make sure that my teammates knew that I supported them," she said." I texted them at tournaments to let them know that I was still involved with the team and cared about them; I'm not sure if that helped them, but I never stopped feeling part of the team. I wanted them to know that I was still committed to our goals.
"I did rehab pretty much every day for four months. Jason (Palmateer), our team's trainer, and Dr. Pfister, my therapist, worked really hard to get me back to play. They came up with a plan to help me recover my range of motion and to strengthen my knee and leg. And then we kept adjusting it depending on my progress. In the beginning, it got to a point where I was doing rehab two to three times a day and exercises on my own three times more."
The Sharks' spring season begins Feb. 17 in Lakeland, Fla. Cammisa hopes to help lead the team to more successes on the course.
"Team-related, I want us to move up in the Golfstat ranking," she said. "This team has a lot of potential to get better, and now that we will drop a score every round things are going to be a little more uphill. Of course I dream about winning another national championship for NSU and I have no doubts that we have the ability to do it."
Head coach Amanda Brown is pleased to have one of her leaders back as well.
"Lili has worked every single day to recover since her surgery with discipline and dedication," said Brown. "She was able to take the direction from our team trainer, Jason Palmateer, and work with physical therapists on campus to swiftly get back on the course. Lili is a tremendous part of our team, and I congratulate on her on getting back to good health. We are looking forward to this championship season."
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