Tottori leaves Seattle U as a legend on and off the course

BY BOB SHERWIN • CG STAFF WRITER

Kimberlee Tottori, perhaps the most celebrated women golfer at Seattle University in more than a decade, leaves the program with two voids to fill — one on the field and one-off.

“She’s one of the most fantastic players we’ve had,” says Redhawks coach Marc Chandonnet. “But off the field as well, she’s just a really great human being. When Kimmy walks into a room she has the ability to light it up and command the room. She’s friendly and outgoing, but not a fake friendly. It’s genuine.”

Tottori, the team’s top player for virtually all four seasons, served as the team captain this year and held together a team that faced a season severely restricted by pandemic restrictions. The fall season was canceled, and the team managed to schedule just five matches this spring. It ended in late April with the Western Athletic Conference Championships, where Tottori finished third overall. “It’s been an odd year for everyone,’’ she says. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to play at all. The whole season could easily have been canceled.”

Chandonnet will be forever thankful Tottori committed to Seattle U. in 2017, following an impressive run at Faith Lutheran High School in her hometown of Las Vegas. During her junior, club, and high school careers, she won more than 80 tournaments, all while carrying a 4.0 grade-point average.

Tottori credits her older brother David, now an assistant women’s golf coach at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, N.Y., with initially encouraging her to pick up the game. “And he’s the reason I have a competitive edge,” she says. “As a little sister, you want to beat your older brother.”

As she grew in the game, many of the West Coast’s top programs were interested in Tottori, but she chose Seattle “based on its academic reputation, and the opportunity to play (right away).”

Tottori, Seattle U's top player for virtually all four seasons, served as the team captain this year and held together a group of players that faced a season severely restricted by pandemic restrictions.

She averaged 75.56 through 11 tournaments her freshman year, was named second team All-WAC and finished sixth at the WAC Championships. A year later, she was named the team’s MVP with a pair of fourth place finishes among the nine tournaments she played.

It was her junior season when Tottori excelled, though. She had five rounds at par or better — tied for second most in school history, averaged 4.2 on par 4s — third lowest in school history, and a little over five on par 5s — fifth lowest in school history. Her 74.84 scoring average was the eighth best in the WAC and the best ever recorded at Seattle U.

But that 2019-20 season ended in disappointment for the Redbirds. At the WAC Championships, New Mexico State, which had two fairway hole-outs in the final round, tied the Redbirds for first place at the end of regulation. The Aggies won the match in a playoff, denying the Redbirds the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

“It was heartbreaking for us,” says Tottori, “and I don’t know if we fully recovered. Not everything goes according to plan.” She adds that the team came into this past season with motivation to win the WAC title and get to the NCAAs, but that the cancelations “took all the momentum away.” Her third-place finish at the WAC “was a nice closing chapter,” however.

The golf training center is a transformed racquetball court with a net. They could use some additional space and funding, but Chandonnet can hold up Tottori’s legacy and near NCAA qualifying as examples that the program is making progress.

Tottori’s plan now is to return to Las Vegas and enter UNLV’s pre-med program. By joining the medical field there, she aims to “give back to that community”. She is one of six seniors Chandonnet needs to replace for next season in a program that fights for its place in the SU athletic program. Chandonnet is a coach for both the women’s and men’s teams. The Redhawks don’t have a home course, as they play at Broadmoor and Sand Point each one day a week. “The other five days I have to make a lot of phone calls,” says Chandonnet.