Sophomore golfer Iliana Telles accomplished one of her collegiate goals this year when she shot a 78 in the first round of the Rose City Collegiate Golf Tournament.
Her goal was to break 80, something she couldn't accomplish her freshman year, said Telles, one of this year's co-recipients of an Alice and Taylor Alexander Endowed Scholarship for Women's Athletics. She then followed with rounds of 79-79.
There might have been extenuating circumstances her freshman year.
A multi-sport athlete (golf, basketball and volleyball) at The Dalles High School, Telles suffered an ACL injury on the basketball court her senior year and played most of her first year as a Viking while it was mending.
In fact, her first love in sports was basketball.
"My dream was always to play basketball. But, I was only 5'3". I really wasn't tall or quick enough," she said. Still, she was good enough to be first team All-Conference and team MVP as a sophomore and junior. She was second team All-Conference in volleyball and was named The Dalles High School Female Athlete of the year in 2015-2016.
In the meantime, she also was excelling at golf, placing eighth in the Oregon 5A State Championship as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore and second as a junior (the ACL kept her sidelined her senior year).
Telles came to the attention of Viking Golf Coach Kailin Downs.
"I'd coached her cousin at OSU, so I knew she came from a good family. She had a good grasp on the concept of team play and coaching. I saw a lot of potential," Downs said.
Since basketball wasn't going to work, Telles turned her attention to playing golf in college.
"I didn't see myself coming to a Division I school, but when my brother (Damian) went to Idaho…he's now playing professional golf in Canada"…she thought, well, why not?
"When Coach Downs contacted me…and then when I came to see the campus, I knew this was where I wanted to be. Coach Downs had coached my cousin and I knew I could trust Coach Downs to teach me what I need to know."
That first year was hard, Telles said.
"I was recovering from the ACL injury and I had to work on trusting my knees. It was kind of rough," she said. Then there was a death in the family (an aunt) this year, which made it hard to concentrate on getting better. "Between my knee last year and that this year, it's been hard to concentrate. I feel I can work on it now and my scores are showing it."
Telles needs to "fine tune her short game and her scoring mentality," Downs said. "She didn't play as much competition as some do before coming here and she needs to gain confidence that she can be a good D-1 golfer and that she can consistently shoot under 75."
Telles shot a 75 late in the fall at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown and had a final-round 78.
"Specifically, I need to work on my short game. I need to lengthen and strengthen my approach shot. Then, if I reach the green, I've been having trouble knocking it down for a par…that's mental.
She's been learning to "clear my mind and calm down when I get on the green."
Downs' expectations for Telles this year "are for her to get more consistent. She's already improved over last year even with the few opportunities she had. This fall, she's already played in three tournaments. As she continues to improve, she's going to get into the mix more and more."
In the classroom, Telles is carrying better than a 3 point cumulative GPA and hopes to graduate with it over 3.3. And, she's also taking a second look at her initially stated goal of becoming a police officer.
"I hope to have an internship with the FBI Portland office next summer. I'm still interested in law enforcement, I'm just not sure I still want to be a police officer," she said.
Besides her potential on the course, Downs has another reason she's glad she recruited Telles.
"She has a fun, bubbly personality. She helps keep it light and helps everyone remember that it's supposed to be fun. She makes people laugh."
