The Augustana women’s golf team is off to a fast start to begin their season, having placed either first or second in each of their first four meets. The team finished in first place out of 11 teams at the Fighting Scot Invitational from September 8-9.
Since beginning their season at the Carl Sandburg Invitational on August 25, where the team tied for first out of five teams, the golfers continued their success at their next two meets. On August 26, the team competed in the Monmouth Invitational, winning the three-team triangular that pitted them against Monmouth College and Lincoln College.
During their second weekend of competition, the team placed second in a field of eight at the two-day Highland Classic on September 1-2, held at the team’s course in Rock Island, setting a school record for both best 36-hole score and best 18-hole score, with scores of 636 and 315, respectively.
Leading the way was junior Melanie Loeffler, who placed second overall with a two-day score of 154, which tied her for sixth-best 18-hole total in Augustana women’s golf history and led her to be named the CCIW Women’s Golfer of the Week. Loeffler explained her thoughts on the team’s success so far.
“Our team is looking really good this year, I’m really excited. We have a lot of good freshman and they have a lot of potential and I’m really excited to see them succeed,” Loeffler said. “My coach, Tom Lawrence, has influenced us a lot these past couple days to just keep working hard and I’m really excited to see what has to come.”
Coach Lawrence explained how he motivates the team to continue to grow despite their high placing in their first few matches.
“Every year we come in with a goal of every single player shooting the best score they’ve ever shot. It starts individually and then it translates to the team,” Lawrence said. “We just say you can’t get there in one day. We work at it one day at a time, and if we put up good numbers on every hole we’ll have good scores and then we just let the chips fall.”
The team, which tied for third at last season’s CCIW Women’s Golf Championship, added three freshman to its roster this season and has already benefited from the arrival of the new team members.
First-year Rylie Schurter finished second overall at the Carl Sandburg Invitational, placed seventh overall at the Highland Classic and finished in 11th place out of 63 golfers at the Fighting Scot Invitational. She explained her goals for the rest of her first season.
“Individually, I just want to focus on shooting where I am now. I kind of surprised myself with how well I was playing, so kind of just stay around the score I’m shooting now,” Schurter said.
Loeffler echoed Schurter, explaining both her individual goals and the team’s goals.
“My goal is to just keep focused on my game, not worry about anyone else’s. I try not to get lost in my other playing partners’ scores, I just really want to focus on my game and how I’m doing that day. Our team goal is to hang a banner, as we like to call ‘Hang a Banny,’” Loeffler said.
The team’s next meet will be the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational, a two-day event from September 15-16 at the Ironwood Golf Course in Bloomington, Illinois.