The Trinity men’s and women’s golf team traveled to Georgetown, Tex. to the Berry Creek Country Club to compete in the West Region Invitational on Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8.
The 11th-ranked Trinity Tigers women’s golf team shot an opening-round of 342 on the first day to secure a fifth place spot. The men shot a 626 in the first two rounds and stood in sixth place following Monday’s action.
“I am still optimistic about the rest of our season. Conference is in two weeks, so we have plenty of time to regroup and get our game back together before we play in that tournament. Even though we didn’t play our best in this tournament, we’ve had a really great season. We aren’t going to let one tournament bring us down and I know we will come out on top at conference,” said junior Alessa Hutter in an e-mail.
Three Trinity golfers from the women’s team made it into the top-25 standings. They were led by sophomore Brigette Lee, who shot an 83 and tied for 17th place. First year Hanna Niner recorded an 85 and tied for the 22nd position, while first-year Christine Campbell scored 86, in a tie for 24th place. Sophomore Madeline Moran, who tied for 30th, shot 88, while Alessa Hutter tied for 37th, with a 93. First year Yanina Soudaly, who competed as an individual, took 45th place with a score of 95.
“My goals for conference are to play our best and continue to improve because we have a young team and we have time to still go to nationals if we don’t go this year. If we shave a couple of strokes off everyone’s score, then we can improve a lot,” Niner said.
On the men’s side, defending individual champion junior Kalen Vos shot a 78 and 77 for a two-round total of 155, securing the No. 15 slot. Senior Tyler Lehmann recorded a 77 and 79 and tied for 16th place. Senior Erik Long-Goheen posted an 82 and 76 and tied for 22nd. Senior Austin Jung, locked in a tie for the No. 26 position, after shooting a 79 and 80, while first-year Trevor Warner, hit an 83 and 78 taking 29th place.
“I was happy with our 6th place finish at the West Cup tournament, there were a lot of really good teams in the field. We beat all of the teams we should have and some ranked higher than us. The rest of the season all depends on how we finish in our next tournament,” Warner said.
The women closed the final round on Tuesday with a two-day score of 703 and finished in fifth place. The men remained in sixth place for the invitational after recording a score of 324.
“We had a rough second day battling the wind at the tournament, and we all did not play to our full ability. However, we are confident that we will be able to regroup in the next week and come back strong to win conference. This tournament was a good reality check and learning tool, so we know what we need to work on for the rest of the season,” Lee said.
Campbell tied for 20th place in the individual competition after recording an 86 in both rounds. Niner shot a two-day total of 174 and finished in a tie for the 26th slot. Lee recorded a 179 for the tournament and tied for 30th, while Hutter made a total of 183 and tied for the 34th position. Moran shot a 188 for the tournament and finished in 40th place. Soudaly shot a 194 and finished in 43rd.
Vos and Long-Goheen tied for 17th place in the individual event, with scores of 238. Vos recorded an 83 and Long-Goheen carded an 80 for the final day of competition. Lehmann shot an 83 and tied for 20th place with a total of 239. Warner posted a 79 and tied for 22nd place with a score of 240. Jung shot 82 for a three-round total of 241 and managed a tie in the 24th slot.
“It was tough conditions but we did not play what we are capable of,” said director of golf and head coach, Coach Spenkoch.
The Trinity Tigers will defend their title at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship from April 21 to the 22 at The Resort at Tapatio Springs in Boerne, Tex.
