Beau Supan-
The sun was shining on the Gustie Golfers this weekend – both literally and figuratively. The Women’s golf team won the UW-Eau Claire Georgianni Blugold Invitational with rounds of 326 and 325 for a total of 651 to finish first out of 11 teams. The Men’s team finished runner-up in the Minnesota classic with rounds of 294, 291, and 292 for a 3-round total of 877 and finishing second out of 16 teams.
The Women’s golf team had a sensational performance this weekend capturing the win. This win marks their first win since the 2020-2021 season. The Women’s team was highlighted by stellar play from First-years Riley Zebroski and Maren Masters. Zebroski took second individually in the tournament with rounds of 74 and 80, while Masters took fourth with rounds of 85 and 75, leading the women to victory on the second day. Sophomores Emily Kolb and Jenna Peipkorn, and Senior Annika Reirson all pitched-in as well to help secure the victory.
“I was overall more focused and more intentional with my shots,” commented Masters on her improvement from day one to day two. Her 75 on day two was the low round for the Gustavus girls and helped them secure their victory. Masters also had an interesting take on pre-round music choices, “I usually listen to some type of music that will calm me down, like classical music. I also recently have been listening to podcasts while I warm up like true crime or storytelling. It really helps me get out of my head and calm my emotions.” Sure to say it worked this past weekend in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The other standout First-year, Zebroski, had rounds of 74 and 80 to finish second in the tournament. “I absolutely love playing college golf. The girls on the team always support me on the good days and cheer me on and that doesn’t change if I have a tough round. It is everything I expected and more,” commented Zebroski on her second college golf tournament. No doubt if Zebroski continues her collegiate play like this, her name will be one for the record books within the Gustavus Women’s golf team.
Although the play of the First-years was stellar this weekend, the Upperclassmen are great leaders and role models on the team, along with being great golfers. Captains Kolb and Reirson were both very important pieces to the victory and overall success of the team. “I think being a leader means someone that the team can rely on for support whether that’s in golf school or their own personal lives,” stated Kolb when asked about her leadership role. It’s that leadership that really helps make the women’s golf team so successful both on and off the course. The Women’s golf team worked very well together this weekend and doing so helped them secure the victory.
The men competed in The Minnesota Golf Classic. The Minnesota Golf Classic is a tournament hosted by Bethel at Pioneer Creek and the event is 54 holes long. Golfers play 18 holes on the first day and 36 on the second day. Gustavus was led by Sophomore Wyatt “Dubby” Carlson, who had rounds of 76, 71, and 71 to lead the Gusties in his first tournament in the Top 5 lineup. “I really just had fun out there. I hit a lot of greens in regulation and gave myself birdie opportunities all tournament. I also have to give credit to assistant coach Sam Skaar, he really helped me stay relaxed out there and we worked really well together,” stated Carlson when asked about his impressive debut performance. Carlson will look to build off of this career-best tournament going into the rest of the season, and as for Skaar, we may have seen the debut of a successful coaching career.
Since the Minnesota Golf Classic utilizes the 18-hole first day 36-hole second day format, the days can be very taxing both mentally and physically for golfers. “We literally golf non-stop from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and it gets to be exhausting mentally, especially competing and staying focused for 10 hours non-stop is a challenge. That’s why I had Redbull and Monster Energy during the course of the day,” stated Junior Teddy Kaste.
A runner-up finish is a very great accomplishment, however some members of the team were left unsatisfied not leaving with a win. “It felt okay, I feel like we have a lot of pieces of the puzzle coming together, and I feel like we have good momentum building as we head into Boston, which is the important part,” stated Sophomore Pelayo Perez Crespo, who had brilliant rounds of 72 and 71 on the weekend, when asked about how the runner-up felt. The goal for the Gustavus Men is always to win, and although a runner-up finish is good, Perez Crespo and the men are always striving for victory.
The runner-up finish at The Minnesota Golf Classic was a great improvement from the previous year where they placed seventh, and they have a lot to be optimistic about heading into the rest of their season. The team heads to Williamstown, Massachusetts next weekend where they will play the Williams Invitational.
The Gustavus Men’s and Women’s golf teams both had very successful weekends out on the course, both finishing strongly and having many positive takeaways from their respective events. The men will be playing in Massachusetts this upcoming weekend, while the women will be playing the D3 Classic at Emerald Greens where they will look to continue their winning ways.