Women’s golf looks to improve before NSIC Preview
The Minnesota State Women’s Golf team were back on the green Monday and Tuesday for the 2023 Holiday Inn Express Missouri West Invite. The Mavericks finished in eighth place with a total team score of 663.
The competition was held in St. Joseph, Missouri at the St. Joseph Country Club. They played on a par-72 and a 5,836 yard course. The nine-team event was hosted by Missouri Western. The Griffons won the team event with a score of 604.
This is the first competitive event that the team have taken part in since the NCAA Super Region Preview back in October 2022. The Mavs were able to get a chance to shake the cobwebs off when they took a trip to Litchfield Park, Arizona, to participate in the SMSU Spring Invitational at Wigwam Golf Club.
Prior to and after the spring invitational, the new golf facility on campus was an enormous factor in getting the team ready for the event. The contributions of the facility that opened its doors Jan. 27 cannot be overstated, as it gave both the men and women a chance to work on their game like never before. The women’s team didn’t have much time off from swinging their golf clubs after the NCAA Super Region Preview. The team was able to access the facility in November. With so much of the sport being about mechanics, the squad was able to stay locked in throughout the winter.
“Being able to go right from outside and not take any time off and be able to continue what you’ve been working on all fall and even prior to that they work all summer on their games. You know what a lot of schools that don’t have facilities or don’t have the luxury, you know to have something like that. You definitely see it come springtime,” said head coach Alex Schmitz.
In the days leading up to the competition, Schmitz was excited to see his freshman perform well, along with having his seniors pick up where they left off in the fall.
“I think you know, going into our first tournament really looking forward to our freshman playing well, our top five has been our same top five all fall you know, it hasn’t changed. Looking for our leadership, our seniors and our upperclassmen, to just continue what they did in the fall. Looking forward to see them put all the time and the effort that we put in over the winter, just show itself on the golf course,” Schmitz said.
Freshman Sammy Youngquist was a shining light for the Mavs at St. Joseph Country Club. Youngquist paced the Mavs with a score of 164. This earned her a tie for 21st place. This comes off the back of her impressive performance in the spring invitational, where she was tied for 16th and shot a 158. Senior Anna Cihak finished tied 27th with a 166, while junior Delenay Conrad shot a 168. Senior Madi McGinty shot a 167 and accounted for two of the five birdies the Mavs got Tuesday. Senior Sam Soulier rounded out the team scoring with a 170. On an individual note, sophomore Kelly Winter shot a 169.
There is a quick turnaround for the Mavs as they head into their next event. They will be going back to Missouri for the NSIC Preview April 3-4.
Write to Mohamed Warsame at Mohamed.Warsame@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: Minnesota State’s Women’s Golf team finishes eighth at the 2023 Holiday Inn Express Missouri West Invite Tuesday. (Courtesy MNSU Athletics)