The Men’s Golf team recently participated in the Battle in the Desert, a golf tournament located in Southern California and the Nighthawks Invitational in Pleasanton, Ca.
Some of the highlights from Battle in the Dessert included first-year Cole Kroeker finishing 1-under-par for 8th place individually and third-year Colin Huang finishing with a 1-over-par final round. A big highlight in the Nighthawks Invitational was a top-10 finish from fourth-year, Lucas Happy, finishing at 1-over-par.
Huang spoke a little on the mental and physical aspects of being in a tournament. “I think the guys and myself have gotten off to a bit of a slow start. Our biggest thing right now is sticking to fundamentals, and making sure that we’re physically healthy to go out and compete,” said Huang.
The team has had a slow start to the spring season with only one top-10 finish in three tournaments. However, the team still has a few more tournaments to rally back and prepare for the postseason. “We’re staying hungry,” said Huang, “ and trying to stay in a position that allows us to capitalize in the postseason.”
The women’s golf team started their season late. Their first tournament was planned to be at the LA Spring Kickoff, but unfortunately it got canceled. They started at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout where they finished t-3rd place.
Notable individual statistics came from second-year, Avery Foster, who had a 3-over-par final round. On the final day of the tournament, third-year Laueren Garcia managed to get top-10 as she got a solid 73 (+1) performance.
Garcia spoke about the tournament and what it is like preparing for it. “With most things, especially golf, having confidence and mental toughness are the two most valuable things you can have,” said Garcia,” and to me, knowing you have done everything possible to prepare is the best way to go into a tournament.”
Every athlete has their obstacles and Garcia had this to say about the last tournament. “During the last tournament, I struggled a little when it came to trusting myself. That being said, I have been practicing hard so I will be able to trust myself over even the hardest shots.”
With multiple tournaments coming up the both men and women teams are looking to move up the leaderboards. The women’s team just traveled to San Marcos for the Fujikura Invitational and will head to Tucson, AZ in a couple weeks for the WT Desert Invitational. For the men, they will travel to Turlock, CA to play starting March 24.
