Golfers turn to freshmen for boost in Iowa tournament
First-year players turn in big performances to push Blugolds to fifth place finish
McLean Bennett
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Sports
For the second weekend in a row, the UW-Eau Claire women's golf team looked to its burgeoning ranks of young players for a bit of a boost.
Once again, those players didn't disappoint.
This time, it was freshman Katie Maurer who answered the call. Maurer cut five shots off her first-round performance this weekend to lead the Blugolds to a 668 stroke, No. 5 finish in the Wartburg Fall Invitational, held Saturday and Sunday in Waverly, (Iowa.).
Maurer shot 79 strokes Sunday after shooting 84 the day before to finish the tournament tied for No. 14 individually. She was the only Blugold to finish in the top 20.
"(Maurer is) good enough to compete for a lot of the tournaments that we play in," coach John Means said, who added strong play on the back nine Sunday helped push Maurer to succeed in the tournament.
"She took a big step forward today," he said.
Junior Torie Ives took second for the Blugolds and also saw improvement across both rounds. She chopped off seven strokes in the second round after shooting an 88 Saturday, finishing with 169 shots and tied for No. 27 overall.
It was another freshman, though, who provided the biggest push for the Blugolds. Freshman Lauren Gault, who led the team last weekend at the Eau Claire Fall Invite, shot a 79 on Sunday after shooting a 92 the day before, improving by 13 shots and finishing fourth for the team with 171 strokes.
"I felt like two totally different people on the golf course," Gault said after the tournament on Sunday. "Yesterday I really couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong ... I think I definitely played to my ability today."
Freshmen Emily Swift and Lea Jondal came in at No. 3 and No. 5 in the lineup, respectively. Swift finished with 170 strokes and Jondal with 179.
Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) stayed steady over the weekend, finishing first both days to win the tournament at 633 strokes. Eau Claire cut 12 strokes off its first-round score Sunday to jump into fifth place with 668 shots - six shy of No. 4 University of St. Thomas (Minn.).
Illinois Wesleyan University (Ill.) and host Wartburg College (Iowa) took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.
Freshmen Jamie Hauser and Maggie Lattery and sophomore Katie Swift finished at the No. 33, No. 59 and No. 66 spots, respectively, in the tournament's open field. Lattery shaved 12 strokes off her first-round score Sunday - the second biggest turnaround behind Gault's 13-stroke comeback.
Ives said that, despite its youth (10 of the team's 12-woman roster are freshmen), the team has been performing well so far.
"We have a lot of young players who can play - there's no doubt about it," she said. "I can really only say good things about them. All of them have really stepped up."
Once again, those players didn't disappoint.
This time, it was freshman Katie Maurer who answered the call. Maurer cut five shots off her first-round performance this weekend to lead the Blugolds to a 668 stroke, No. 5 finish in the Wartburg Fall Invitational, held Saturday and Sunday in Waverly, (Iowa.).
Maurer shot 79 strokes Sunday after shooting 84 the day before to finish the tournament tied for No. 14 individually. She was the only Blugold to finish in the top 20.
"(Maurer is) good enough to compete for a lot of the tournaments that we play in," coach John Means said, who added strong play on the back nine Sunday helped push Maurer to succeed in the tournament.
"She took a big step forward today," he said.
Junior Torie Ives took second for the Blugolds and also saw improvement across both rounds. She chopped off seven strokes in the second round after shooting an 88 Saturday, finishing with 169 shots and tied for No. 27 overall.
It was another freshman, though, who provided the biggest push for the Blugolds. Freshman Lauren Gault, who led the team last weekend at the Eau Claire Fall Invite, shot a 79 on Sunday after shooting a 92 the day before, improving by 13 shots and finishing fourth for the team with 171 strokes.
"I felt like two totally different people on the golf course," Gault said after the tournament on Sunday. "Yesterday I really couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong ... I think I definitely played to my ability today."
Freshmen Emily Swift and Lea Jondal came in at No. 3 and No. 5 in the lineup, respectively. Swift finished with 170 strokes and Jondal with 179.
Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) stayed steady over the weekend, finishing first both days to win the tournament at 633 strokes. Eau Claire cut 12 strokes off its first-round score Sunday to jump into fifth place with 668 shots - six shy of No. 4 University of St. Thomas (Minn.).
Illinois Wesleyan University (Ill.) and host Wartburg College (Iowa) took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.
Freshmen Jamie Hauser and Maggie Lattery and sophomore Katie Swift finished at the No. 33, No. 59 and No. 66 spots, respectively, in the tournament's open field. Lattery shaved 12 strokes off her first-round score Sunday - the second biggest turnaround behind Gault's 13-stroke comeback.
Ives said that, despite its youth (10 of the team's 12-woman roster are freshmen), the team has been performing well so far.
"We have a lot of young players who can play - there's no doubt about it," she said. "I can really only say good things about them. All of them have really stepped up."
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