The Gustavus Women’s golf team is working their way towards their goal of winning the upcoming MIAC Championships and earning a bid to nationals, despite a slow start to the season. The women are hoping to use their senior leadership and experience along with their improving short game to give them the edge they need.

“The ladies have a passion for success, which is something I really enjoy. They want to do the little things to get better.”—Scott Moe

“We didn’t graduate anyone this past season, so we really want to capitalize on our strong upperclassmen as leaders on our team. That’s going to help us succeed this season. I think we are preparing to put ourselves in a good position for conference right now,” Senior Mae Meierhenry said.

The women’s team hasn’t been playing as well as they hoped to be playing at this point in the season, finishing fifth out of fifteen teams at the Georgianni Memorial Invitational on Auf. 30-31, third out of eight teams at the Augustana College Invitational on Sept. 6-7, and seventh out of ten teams at the O’Brien Invitational on Sept. 14-15.

Despite the shortcomins, the women are maintaining their hard work ethic and are looking for ways to improve their results.

“Our chipping and putting need to be a bit sharper. They’re working hard on it during the week and hopefully we’ll get a chance to see the results,” Head Coach Scott Moe said.

Meierhenry has a similar idea on how the team can improve.

“Our short game is what’s going to help us win tournaments,” Meierhenry said.

In addition to working hard to improve their short game, the women are also hoping to use their large number of senior members to gain an edge on the competition.

“We got some good leadership back. We got some older players back that have a lot of experience and we’re hoping to get a chance to use that experience as we get to conference,” Coach Moe said.

Along with strong leadership, the team also has a large group of first-years that have boosted the depth of the team. The team  is the biggest it’s ever been with fourteen players, according to Coach Moe.

“We didn’t graduate anyone this past season, so we really want to capitalize on our strong upperclassmen as leaders on our team. That’s going to help us succeed this season.”—Mae Meierhenry

“We’ve got a wide range of people and I think the dynamic is really good, we’re really positive and supportive of each other and we do our best to cheer each other on even while competing,” Senior Captain Jordy Drenttel said. Overall, the women’s golf team is looking strong and confident as they head into the end of the fall season.

“The ladies have a passion for success, which is something I really enjoy. They want to do the little things to get better,” said Coach Moe.

The MIAC Championships will be held Oct. 4-6 in Coon Rapids Minnesota.

-Katie Allen