The UW-Eau Claire women’s golf team participated in their last scheduled invitational for their 2021-2022 season this past Saturday and Sunday.

According to the women’s golf athletic schedule, the Blugolds attended the Viking Invitational at Highland Springs Golf Course on April 30 and May 1 in Rock Island, Ill.

The Blugolds have been competing since September for this season, taking a break in the middle of October as winter rolled in. According to their schedule they continued their season in the middle of April and finished this past weekend.

Andy Meade, the head coach for the women’s golf team, said that he is optimistic for the team and its future.

“We have a lot of young women who are very capable and want to improve their golf games and so I think simply we just have an optimistic outlook for the future,” Andy Meade said.

The Viking invite was a two day competition for the Blugolds and, according to the UW-Eau Claire athletics recap, the team placed fifth overall with a total score of 673.

This invite had a total of five Blugolds competing for the team. According to the results page, this included Holly Carlson who scored an 81 on both days for a total of 162. Cadie Ash shot an 84 on day one and an 83 on day two for a total of 167.

Megan Glaser shot an 87 on day one and an 83 the next for a total of 170. Olivia McSorley hit an 87 the first day and 86 the next for 174. Finally, Emma Onesti scored a 91 on the first day and an 89 the next for a total of 180.

The women’s golf team also had Abby Bratanich as an individual for the invitational. Bratanich scored a 104 on the first day and a 102 on the second for a total of 206.  

Lexi Meade, a third-year history student and one of the athletes on the women’s golf team, said that the team itself has a great overall team dynamic and that helps set the Blugolds apart from other teams.

“I think everyone is really friendly and they enjoy hanging out with each other even outside of sports,” she said. “I think that is really helpful because when we travel I think everyone genuinely enjoys it and enjoys being with their teammates.”

According to the results page, after all of the scores were calculated, the Blugolds were ranked with all 63 of the competitors, Carlson tied for ninth and Ash tied for 16th.

The rest of the athletes ranked as such: Glaser tied for 22nd, McSorley tied for 31st, Onesti ranked 38th and Bratanich tied for 56th.

According to an Eau Claire News 18 article, this season has had a big change for the Blugolds. Their head coach Andy Meade was promoted from assistant coach in December of 2021, halfway through the season.

To follow the Blugolds at the SJU Invitational or in the future, viewers can follow along on Blugold Game Day or on the UW-Eau Claire Blugold app.

Fisher can be reached at [email protected].