The UW Oshkosh women’s golf team competed in its first tournament after a six-month break and finished 13th out of 22 teams at the Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling on Friday and Saturday at the Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, Ill.
Head coach Liza Ruetten said her team faced obstacles during the tournament, as weather created issues on Friday.
“The girls were pulled off the course twice due to heavy storms and were only able to finish 14 holes on Friday,” Ruetten said. “The tournament committee decided to have the players finish their remaining four holes on Saturday morning prior to beginning their second round of 18. This meant all players had to play 22 holes on Saturday morning. Every player handled this adversity exceptionally well, and I was extremely pleased with our team scores.”
Freshman Hannah Braun said the weather had a big impact on her and her teammates’ performances.
“The first day of the tournament was quite different than the second day; with mild winds the first day, the weather was quite nice until a couple of delays that ended in a postponed round,” Braun said. “The second day of the tournament the wind was up to 30 mph, which definitely made the conditions a lot harder than the first day.”
Junior Micayla Richards led the way for the Titans as she finished 32nd overall. Richards, who made the All-WIAC Second Team in the 2015-16 season, shot an 82 on Friday and completed the tournament with a score of 80 to total her score at 162 (18 over par).
Braun also led the Titans as she finished 42nd with 164 strokes (20 over par). Braun recorded 23 pars, the third-highest total among the entire field.
Ruetten had good things to say about Braun’s performance in Illinois.
“Hannah Braun, who played in the No. 1 position for the team, played exceptionally well,” Ruetten said.
Braun said her performance was a result of taking on the tournament shot-by-shot.
“One major thing I took away from my performance this weekend was not to rush my shots,” Braun said. “When I had a bad shot, I found myself rushing to the ball and not focusing on what I could do to put myself in a better position for my next shot.”
Freshman Dianna Scheibe finished 62nd with a score of 170 (26 over par), senior Laura Stair finished 77th with 173 strokes (29 over par) and freshman Hanna Rebholz contributed for UWO as she finished in 98th with 182 strokes (28 over par).
UW Oshkosh finished Friday’s match with 332 strokes and Saturday with 337.
Richards said she was most impressed with the team’s willingness to compete despite the rough conditions.
“The biggest thing I took from the team’s performance this weekend was that playing in weather that is not ideal can have a major effect mentally and physically,” Richards said. “This being the first tournament of the spring season, we played well and stayed pretty consistent with our totals for the two days. I was very proud of how our team stayed in positive spirits having to play 22 holes the second day, and still could produce great scores.”
Ruetten was happy with the scores, noting the Titans were without one of their key contributors.
“We averaged 326 last fall, but this average included scores from sophomore Kayla Priebe, 2017 WIAC Player of the Year,” Ruetten said. “Priebe was unable to attend our event this past weekend. Our team scores of 332 and 337 were very good with this group of five players who have had very limited practice time due to poor weather conditions the past three weeks.”
Priebe, who missed for an undisclosed reason, has finished in the top three in four out of the six matches this year.
Braun said in order for her to further her success, preparation will be a key factor.
“I think I have to be more mentally prepared, whether it’s the weather, the course, or the opponents, it would be good to come in strong mentally so my golf game can also be strong,” Braun said.
UWO continues competition on Friday and Saturday at the UW-Whitewater Spring Fling in Beloit.
