Starting off the season with respectable placings at two different outings, with a fourth place for the women’s golf team, and sixth for the men. Both squads were looking to build upon these finishes at the Kansas City Cup in Smithsville, Mo, and they went on to both finish in the top three of the tournament. With the women’s team finishing at second place (shooting 616, 310 in the first, 306 in the second,) and the men’s squad finishing at third place (shooting 585, 287 in the first, 298 in the second.)
Among the standout performers for the women’s team, junior Kendall Farm finished third, while shooting the best on the team (73-76-149) with Sophia Lawler tied for fifth overall (76-76-152.)
For the men’s squad, four of six players finished inside the top 10, starting with freshman Neil Hanlon finishing in fourth (70-74-144,) another top placing was junior Dylan Gute finishing directly behind Hanlon in fifth (70-75-145,) along with freshman Jann Atendido closing out at sixth place (74-73-147,) lastly, freshman Ethan Hormann finished tied for eighth (73-76-149.)
Building on the finish from the last tournament, and with both teams having coach Greg Baresel at the helm, the preparation and practice is the same for both squads. Kendall Farm explained, “Coach Baresel stresses the importance of the mental game and trying to stay positive no matter what happens during the round. Coach Baresel is a PGA (Professional Golf Association) teaching professional so whenever we need help with our game or technically with our swing, he can help us.” Strong support from Baresel seems to have paid dividends with the steady improvement so far.
Going forward, Farm feels that the teams are destined for success, stating their aspirations, “Two of the team’s goals this year are to make it to match play in conference and to qualify for regionals.”
Carrying on with the expectations, Farm explained how she can improve personally and how the team can continue to improve as the season progresses. “Something that needs improvement in my game is my short game and putting. It has become better in my time while playing for Lewis, but there is always room for improvement and that is the area of my game where I lose the most amount of shots. As for the team, I think we need to get more confidence scoring low together. Our team score has been going lower each round we have played this year, so just knowing that we can compete with some of the best teams in our conference is a huge confidence booster.”
Moving forward, the teams have plenty of outings left to continue to boost their game. Starting with the Panther invite in Augusta, Mich. The event will take place Oct. 15-16.
Photo Credits: Matthew Carlson
