The Iowa women’s golf team hasn’t played up to its preseason expectations this season.

Even after a top-five finish at their lone home tournament this past weekend, the Hawkeyes are not satisfied with their play.

One player, though, has taken hold of her driver and ripped into her potential.

Freshman Kristi Cardwell came to Iowa this year with a list of high-school accolades, much like any other heralded prospect. But just because Cardwell was Indiana’s top female Pepsi Junior Golfer of the Year in 2008 didn’t mean she would immediately post great numbers at the collegiate level.

But the Noblesville, Ind., native has.

In her first tournament wearing Black and Gold, Cardwell finished tied for second on the team. When she traveled to Wisconsin for the Lady Northern Invitational, she carded the second-best score for the Hawkeyes.

Cardwell then discarded any notion of freshman struggles when she left the Johnnie Imes Invitational with Iowa’s top score, leading the Hawkeyes in each round.

After seemingly taking hold of the No. 1 spot on the team, the only reasonable thing for Cardwell to do was reinforce that idea by firing an even-par round of 72 to open the Hawkeyes’ home tournament this past weekend.

Cardwell finished second on the team in the Hawkeye Invitational — meaning she has finished no lower than second in any of her first four college tournaments. She has also led the team individually in half of Iowa’s 12 total rounds played.

“I certainly expected her to come in, and play well, and vie for that No. 1 spot, and she’s done a great job,” Iowa head coach Kelly Crawford said. “I knew what kind of a player she was in high school, and I know what her potential is, so when we lost our top two players from last year, she was one of the people I expected to fill that role.”

Crawford said she sees Cardwell as the No. 1 player on the team right now. Crawford’s coaching philosophy is that the No. 1 spot is for anybody who wants it, and she said Cardwell has earned the position to this point, latching onto it for the past couple tournaments.

Cardwell’s almost instant success comes partly because she said she felt comfortable after about two weeks after beginning practice.

It also helps that she enjoys being the top player on the team. She doesn’t feel any pressure, she said.

“When she’s in her game, and very focused, she’s very meticulous around the greens,” Crawford said. “She has a confidence that you see within her that I think contributes to her success when she’s playing well.”

Iowa has only one more tournament in the fall season, and Cardwell’s goal is to place in the top five individually.

Crawford said she thinks the top five will become very familiar to the first-year Hawkeye. The fourth-year head coach said she sees Cardwell as a top player in the program and a top player in the conference as Iowa gets better and stronger.

Assistant coach John Owens spent a lot of time at Cardwell’s side during the Hawkeye Invitational, helping her keep emotions away from her club face. He said he has seen Cardwell mature.

“She’s a very good player, and she’s realizing she can play at this level and be successful,” he said. “She’s got a lot of confidence going, and hopefully, she keeps it going.”