Six golfers from Augustana’s women’s golf team competed in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championships this past week, from Oct. 6-8. The Vikings secured third place overall among eight teams in the conference, one rank higher than at the end of the 2024 season.
Players said they were proud of the result since they are such a young team. The conference players consisted of two seniors, one junior and three First-Years, making this team one of the youngest to date. Senior Captain Abby Buechele said that underclassmen were a huge asset to the team this season.
“I thought the conference went really well overall as a team,” Buechele said. “Everyone really helped out to balance [the team] out. I was really excited to see how well they did for their first conference, and I am excited to see what they do in the coming years.”
Some players admit they need to work on the team’s mental game overall. Golf is a huge mental sport –the game is mostly played individually, with no one but yourself to keep going. A stronger mental game could mean more productive results.
The seniors have been solid role models for staying composed on the golf course. They have been able to teach newcomers techniques to calm down and mentally prepare for the challenging courses.
“They are more collective,” First-Year athlete Madi Barnes said. “Seniors are calmer about everything. They do not get mad as easily, and they kind of just take it one shot at a time.”
Besides mentally preparing, they also put in the physical work. The Vikings practiced individually twice a week and played three times a week. The six of them who went to the conference practiced together at the Davenport Country Club to better prepare and gain experience for conference championships.
“We focused a lot more on the six of us that were going to conference,” First-Year Riley Kinsella said. “So just prepping mentally and physically for it, knowing what shots to play and having a game plan was really helpful.”
In order to better prepare for tournaments ahead, players said that they need to simply focus on the next shot ahead of them. Slowing down and taking things one play at a time can be really helpful in advancing to the next part of the game at hand.
“I know a lot of us get really upset with ourselves, especially after a bad hole,” Barnes said. “We will start getting down, and then it’ll affect the next holes in front of us.”
This is not the last that Vikings women’s golf fans will see of the team. They still have their 2026 spring season to play and prepare for. There is more pressure in the fall season than in the spring, since they play the CCIW championships in the fall. Knowing they have each other to rely on and trusting themselves is enough to push through together.
“It’s kind of a lot about trust and confidence in yourself and in your teammates,” Kinsella said. “We’re all here to do what we can, but at the end of the day, if we have a bad shot or a bad day, that’s golf.”
