The UW Oshkosh women’s golf team will open up their spring season at the Carthage College Firebird Spring Invitational at Bristol Oaks Country Club this Saturday and Sunday.

Senior Margheritte Pettenuzzo said one benefit of having a split season is having a break instead of playing one long season.

“There are many different benefits and drawbacks that come with how our golf schedule works,” Pettenuzzo said. “The benefits of it are getting an actual offseason and getting to step away from the busy schedule we have while in season.”

While Pettenuzzo, who shot her season-low 78 at the St. Kate’s Fall Invitational, sees benefits in the breaks, but she said she doesn’t enjoy the loss of team chemistry that comes with such a large gap of time in the middle of the season.

During the frigid offseason, she traveled south to get some rounds in. While in Oshkosh, Pettenuzzo also made use of the golf simulator in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

“I was fortunate enough to travel to Florida on two occasions to prepare for the spring season,” she said. “In addition, the simulators on campus have been a great resource for my team to utilize to prepare for the spring.”

“The drawbacks [of a split season] include being away from my teammates because we are so close, so it is hard to not see them every day,” Pettenuzzo said.

In the fall, the Titans had a first-place finish in the UWO Titan Fall Classic, a third-place finish at the UW-La Crosse Invitational and a fifth-place finish at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship.

In terms of goals for the spring season, Pettenuzzo said the team wants to maintain an enjoyable and competitive atmosphere. She said it’s all about preparation for the ensuing fall season when more freshmen will join the team.

“Our team’s expectations are to have fun this season,” Pettenuzzo said. “We want to prepare for the fall as a team and compete to the best of our ability while remaining competitive and having fun.”

Pettenuzzo, who finished 16th overall and second on the team in the WIAC championship, said she feels as if just about any of her teammates could be due for a breakout round.

“I specifically think the freshman through juniors can have a very good season as they are playing in all the events,” she said. “This includes Josie Hofer, Alyssa Dreher, Ava Downie, Gwyn Golembiewski and Lauryn Davis.”

With four top-20 finishes in the seven fall meets, Pettenuzzo said she wants to work on her short game to shave more strokes off her game.

“I would love to cut down on the number of putts I have per round,” Pettenuzzo said. “Putting is one of the most difficult aspects of the game.”

After this weekend’s invitational, UWO will compete in two more meets before concluding their spring season on April 30 and May 1 at the Augustana College Viking Invitational.