ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s golf teams tee up the 2017 fall season today as the men compete in the Transylvania Invite in Lexington. Ky. and the women compete in the Saint Benedict Invitational in Sartell, Minn. Both meets are two-day events.
This season’s captains are Chris Captain (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) and Alec Aunan (Sr., Rock Island, Ill.) on the men’s squad, and McKenzie Swenson (Sr., Buffalo, Minn.) and Jessica Nelson (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) for the women’s team.
“I think we have great leaders this year who will do their part on the golf course and also be great role models off the golf course in the classroom and on the practice range,” Head Coach Scott Moe said. “Their effort will be relentless and that is what we need.”
Both Captain and Aunan received All-Conference honors last season as Captain averaged 74.5 strokes per round, which ranked second in the MIAC, and Aunan posted a 75.7-stroke average, ranking 12th.
Nelson earned All-Conference last season for the women after taking 10th place at the MIAC Championships. Nelson averaged 81.4 strokes per round last year. Swenson is a 2016 All-Conference member and averaged 82.3 strokes per round a season ago.
“We go into every season knowing that we have a great program and very talented student-athletes,” Moe said. “We expect the same this fall looking into very competitive schedules and we should compete in every tournament we are playing in. We will be in the hunt for a conference title and we hope to achieve our goal of another MIAC title.
The men’s top-five to start the season includes Captain, Aunan, 2017 MIAC Rookie of the Year Ben Hauge (So., Ramsey, Minn.), transfer Joe Foley (So., East Gull Lake, Minn.), and Carter Czichotzki (Fy., Moorhead, Minn.). The women’s top-five consists of Nelson, Swenson, Kristen Cash (So., Roseville, Minn.), Morgan Bleyhl (So., Elk River, Minn.), and Ellie Brandt (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.).
“Looking forward to a great year again on and off the course,” Moe said.