Allison Fajt – Staff Writer

This weekend was a bittersweet ending to the Women’s Golf spring season at the Carleton St. Olaf Invite. Scattered storms and heavy wind cut the first round short on Saturday and not many teams wanted to stay after for the second round Sunday. Gustavus placed fourth out of 14 teams after the first round and then won the Northfield Challenge still competing in the second.
“It was supposed to be a one day tournament and it got separated into two days. A lot of teams dropped out because the weather was so bad. So that kinda shows you the conditions but there were four teams that stayed for Sunday and we actually won that as a team so that was really cool. We got fourth the first day out of 16 teams which was also pretty good but it was cool to end on a win,” Senior Sydney Regalado said.

“Gustavus placed fourth out of 14 teams after the first round and then won the Northfield Challenge.”

The spring invite was the last golf game for the team and the last time for the three seniors to compete for Gustavus.
“Our biggest goal especially for this weekend knowing that it was our last tournament was having a good time out on the course and taking everything in. Especially for the three of us seniors. That was our biggest goal because it’s easy to get caught up in your score and frustrated with your game and when the conditions are tough like they were. No matter what was happening score wise or condition wise out on the course we wanted to soak in the last memories we were going to get,” Senior Emily Kratz said.
Regalado placed the best out of the Gusties in the first round with her low score of 82 earning her a spot in 10th place. Next came Sophomore Annika Reierson with 86 points, Senior Erin Ericson with 87, Kratz 88 and then finally Junior Lauren Ward with 89. The team finished 4th overall and accumulated 343 points in the first round.

“Our biggest goal especially for this weekend knowing that it was our last tournament was having a good time out on the course and taking everything in… We wanted to soak in the last memories we were going to get.”

“First of all it was super tough conditions both days. So for the first day, near the end it got super windy, it was windy both days and that really affects the golf ball. Then it was rainy towards the end of the first day and so then our match got canceled and moved to the next day so it was different than what we normally do. Normally we just play our usual tournaments; the weather doesn’t impact us that much,” Regalado said.
“I personally feel like I worked through the weather pretty well and was able to overcome the wind and all the conditions and stay focused and positive, which was hard to do but that helped me do well. Especially the first day. I finished tied for 10th individually so that was really cool,” Regalado said.
In the second round Kratz had the lowest score of 80, then Ward with 84, 85 for Ericson and a matching 87 for Regalado and Reirson. As a team Gustavus had a score of 336, earning them first place out of the four remaining teams, winning the Northfield Challenge.
“It was kinda hard mentally when you would have a bad hole because of the wind or the rain. But you had to just bounce back and not think about it. Just play how you would normally play without the weather impacting how you would do,” Reirson said.
Sun, rain, or even wind didn’t deter the Gusties from continuing to play. Throughout the season the team was plagued with bad weather and the team still made the best out of a bad situation and enjoyed their last game together.

“‘It was kinda hard mentally when you would have a bad hole because of the wind or the rain. But you had to just bounce back and not think about it. Just play how you would normally play…””

“This weekend was really tough, especially with the conditions we had to play in. I didn’t feel like I was playing my best golf and I think that’s because this weekend was filled with a lot of emotions too, having it be our last tournament. Mentally I think that probably contributed to my game, but for the most part I was just trying to grind out there and battle the wind and the cold but everyone was experiencing it too so we all had to play through it. But it was still a really fun weekend and a good way to end the season with everyone,” Kratz said.