The men’s and women’s golf teams each traveled away from Greencastle to compete in different tournaments. They returned home with different emotions as the women’s team placed third, while the men placed 12th.
The 17 ranked women competed in the Washington University Spring Invitational. They shot an overall 625 which was good enough for third place. Rhodes College won the tournament with a 507 and Gustavus Adolphus College only shot one stroke better than the Tigers and finished second with a 624.
Sophomore Larisa Luloff paced DePauw with a 154, which was good enough to tie for 12th place. First-year Anna Foley and sophomore Danielle Smith each tied for 20th with a score of 157.
Sophomore Rachele Miller tied for 25th with a 159. Senior Kenzlie Westerfield shot a second-round 75 on her way to an overall score of 163 and a 39th place finish.
Emily Salamy of Rhodes College was the champion with a score of 148.
The team may have not performed up to their potential the first day, but Luloff was happy with how well they improved by the second day.
“I couldn't be prouder of how the entire team bounced back the second day and not only improved, but blew away the rest of the field,” Luloff said. “It was satisfying to me to see the confidence back in my teammates.”
Luloff says the success the team had after the second day is giving them confidence moving forward.
“For the first time this spring, I think we all believe that we can make it to nationals this year,” Luloff said. “And that is exactly what we needed to get out of this tournament.”
The men did not fare as well as the women in the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. They recorded an overall score of 618 which was good enough for 12th place. Illinois Wesleyan University won the tournament with a score of 584.
Junior Jackson Mihevc paced the Tigers with a ninth place finish and a score of 147. Senior Quinn Smith tied for 18th place with a score of 151. First-year Jason Miller, junior Andrew Derringer and Sophomore Josh Krutchik rounded up the team with scores of 159, 161 and 162 respectively.
Illinois Wesleyan’s Daniel Coe was the champion after finishing with a score of 138.
Miller was disappointed with how the team played, but he sees potential if the team can pull it together come conference play.
“We need to finish tournaments strong because this whole year statistically we have done much worse on the second day of competition,” Miller said. “If we can all get on the same page; our team could be one of the best in conference.”
The team is preparing in practice for specific difficulties their next course offers.
“In practice we will focus on a good tee ball because the course has pretty tight fairways,” Miller said. “And we will focus on speed control on our putts due to the fast greens.”
The men are back in action tonight as they compete in the Big Four Classic at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana.