The Blugold women’s golf team once again proved why they are nationally-ranked by winning their second straight tournament at the Wartburg College Fall Invitational.
The away tournament happened at the Centennial Oaks Golf course in Waverly, Iowa, on Sept. 11th and 12th.
Head coach Meghan Sobotta said the girls worked hard all week, which was reflected in their excellent performance this past tournament.
“We are in the middle of the season and we just want to keep working hard on the short games.”
The Blugolds finished with 648 strokes, 13 less than second place Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.) and 24 less than third place Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.), which is ranked number two in the nation.
Individually, all the Blugold ladies finished tied for 13th place or better, leading the team to victory.
Junior Emily Swift was the best Blugold player as she took the third place overall with 157 strokes.
She said that even though the weather and course conditions were tough, the team did really well.
“It is a lot harder in the fall than in the spring, because there is a lot of long grass,” Swift said. “It was really windy too, so the wind could blow our balls very easily.”
With 162 strokes, junior Katie Maurer placed fourth in the tournament, Lauren Gault took seventh and Catherine Wagner was ninth. Sara Mattes came in 11th and both Jamie Hauser and Maggie Lattery tied for 13th helping the team to achieve victory.
The overall individual winner was Hannah Buck from Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.), with 151 strokes.
Just like coach Sobotta said, Swift believes the team needs to improve their short games for the next tournament.
“Everybody is working hard in their swings, so those should be good,” Swift said. “But our short game could probably use more help.”
With the two previous wins, Swift hopes the team can win the conference championship in October, so they can automatically qualify for nationals, she said.
The next tournament will be held Sunday in South Bend, Ind. for the O’Brien NCAA Preview, hosted by Saint Mary’s. According to Sobotta, the top ten teams from last year will be playing at the tournament.
“It will be a really good field for us and a really good time to see where we stand against all the other top ten teams in the country.”
