It's never over till it's over. And, even then, it's far from over.

University of Hawai'i's women golfers ended their fall season yesterday by hosting the 18-team Kent Youel Invitational at the Kapolei Golf Course.

So much for a season that started just two months ago when classes began.

It's because of a quirky calendar governing NCAA golf, which divides its year in two seasons — fall and spring — with nearly a four-month break in between.

"Fall season goes quickly. It's hard to get them geared up," said UH women's coach Ashley Adleta, noting that her players are faced with the usual fall distractions such as orientation, readying for classes and worrying about books, room and board.

Junior Dale Gammie, the team's No. 1-ranked player, says it's the way college golf is. "You know what it is when you go in."

It's the reason she front-loads her academic year, taking a heavier class schedule (17 credits this semester) than she does in the spring.

"It's a full load," said Gammie, adding that there's barely time to do much else with a golf regimen that calls for playing two rounds a week, nine holes two other school days and spending Wednesdays and Fridays at the practice range.

That's not counting traveling to tournaments. The Rainbow Wahine went to tournaments hosted by the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State earlier this fall. It was at the latter event in Las Cruces where Gammie finished fifth after tying her UH career best with a final-round 69. That earned her the Xbox Live Western Athletic Conference Golfer of the Month honors.

Gammie also shot a 69 as a freshman in the 2004 WAC championships.

"She's definitely my No. 1 player," said Adleta, counting on Gammie and Lisa Kajihara, both of Pukalani, Maui, to lead the Rainbow Wahine to better things during the spring season, which begins Feb. 27 with the Fresno State Invitational.

By then Adleta should have a good idea about her lineup, which includes sophomore Xyra Suyetsugu, the 2002 O'ahu Interscholastic Association player of the year from Roosevelt High, and freshman Carolina Perez of Colombia and Nancy Shon, a Roosevelt walk-on.

The team's biggest loss was Sara Odelius, who was last year's No. 1 player. A former member of Swedish national team, Odelius decided to return home and turn professional.

As far as her personal goals, Gammie would like to make the NCAA regionals and perhaps the championships.

Both items on her to-do list shouldn't be a problem for Gammie, who is majoring in business management.

Interestingly, collegiate golf was the furthest thing from Gammie's mind when she was a junior in high school at St. Anthony's on Maui.

Playing junior golf since she was 12, Gammie felt burned out and quit playing for a year.

"There were other things going on in my life," said Gammie, whose father, Paul, is a former swimmer at UH.

Then she qualified for the 2002 Junior World Championships in San Diego and played well enough to draw the attention of then-UH women's coach Marga Stubblefield. "Then I kind of thought about golf and college," Gammie said.

Gammie, who turned 20 last Saturday, has been good enough to compete in every tournament for the Rainbow Wahine so far, winning second-team All-WAC honors as a freshman and making the first team as a sophomore.

Now, she's hoping for a breakout year in postseason competition, even if the WAC and NCAA championships are seven months away.

NOTE

The break during the winter months will come at a good time for Adleta. She's getting married Dec. 17 in her hometown of Dallas to Gary Biffle, a submariner who is stationed at Pearl Harbor. They plan to honeymoon on the Big Island.