Coon Rapids, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s golf team sits in sixth place with a team score of 337 (+49) following the opening round of the 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Championship being held over the weekend at Bunker Hills Golf Course.
“We need to do a better job getting off to a better start and maintaining energy throughout the day,” said head coach Scott Moe. “Our energy was a little low and I think that probably had to do with nervousness because of the conditions. Being able to calm down, regroup, and minimize damage on each hole will get us back in it tomorrow.”
Bethel University and the University of St. Thomas led the way and are currently tied for first place with a score of 322 (+34). Both Bethel and St. Thomas finished the day with three individuals ranked inside the top 10. St. Catherine University is in third with a 324 (+36), Carleton College is in fourth with a 325 (+37) and the College of Saint Benedict is in fifth with a 330 (+42).
Leading the Gusties was senior Jordan Drenttel (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) who is the squad’s only player ranked inside the top 15. Drenttel shot an 82 (+10) to finish in a four-way tie for 14th place.
“We always talk about avoiding big numbers and Jordan went out and put up 10 bogeys and eight pars. In today’s conditions, that was pretty solid,” said Moe.
Fellow senior Lauren Johnson (Plymouth, Minn.) is just one shot behind the 14th place traffic jam, carding an 83 (+11) to finish in a three-way tie for 18th.
Rounding out Gustavus’s top five was Sam Falk (Sr., Glenwood, Minn.) in a tie for 21st with an 84 (+12), and Mae Meierhenry (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.) and McKenzie Swenson (Fy., St. Louis Park, Minn.) in a tie for 34th with an 88s (+16).
The current leaders with scores of 77 (+5) are Maxine Carlson of St. Olaf and Kaitlyn Alvarez of St. Catherine. Behind them sit Rachel Morris of St. Thomas and Abby Sonzemius of St. Catherine in a tie for third with 78 (+6).
“We simply need to play better,” Moe said about tomorrow’s round. “Teams aren’t going to drop to us and allow us back in, so we’re going to need to go after it. All five players need to be solid and we need to take advantage.”
Sunday’s 18-hole round will begin at 11:28 a.m. Swenson will be the first on the tee for Gustavus tomorrow morning. She will start at 12:08 p.m. with her four teammates teeing off every eight minutes behind her.
FROM THE MIAC
The three-day, 54-hole MIAC Golf Championships continue Sunday at Bunker Hills with both the men’s and women’s tee times beginning at 11:28 a.m. The tournament will conclude Monday with a final 18-hole round with tee times starting at 9 a.m. Sunday and Monday’s pairings will be determined by the tournament results. Spectators are welcome to attend and there is no admission fee, and spectators are encouraged to read and follow the tournament’s spectator rules.
There will be a short awards ceremony following Monday’s final round to honor the top teams and individuals. The championship team will receive the MIAC championship plaque, as well as the conference’s automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Golf Championships. The top 10 individual finishers will be named to the All-Championship team, and will be automatically eligible for All-Conference honors in the spring.
Fans who can’t make the trip to Coon Rapids can follow all the action on the MIAC Golf Championships web site, which will include unofficial hole-by-hole live scoring updates, results, pairings, tee times, recaps, photos and more. Fans can interact on social media throughout the tournament on the MIAC’s Facebook page, or on Twitter using the hashtag #MIACgolf. The MIAC’s YouTube channel also includes a promotional video for the event.