It was a busy week for the Women’s Golf team, as they completed the Clarion Invitational last weekend, and played in the Millersville University Tournament this weekend. There were many great scores, which contributed to the team coming out on top.
As the Women’s Golf season progresses, the team seems to be gaining more and more momentum. Freshmen are starting to become less nervous, and the upperclassmen are improving each week with their scores. When asking freshman Casey Monaghan about her thoughts on starting her collegiate career, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I was extremely nervous going into the start of my career, and I’m happy I finally got my feet wet and know what to expect.” Two weeks ago, at the Michael Corbett Invitational held in Eerie, PA, Sophomore Taylor Daskivitch shot her lowest collegiate score. Not only did she card a 79 on day one of the tournament, but matched this same score on the second day as well. She admits she is getting way more comfortable on the course, and hopes to continue posting solid consecutive scores.
This past weekend, Daskivitch and the Lady Rams continued to post great scores. For the second consecutive weekend, the squad shot a school- record low 329 team score. With this score on the first day of the Clarion Invitational last weekend, the team sat in second place behind Division I Youngstown State. This is impressive, as they were one stroke ahead of their rival team, Kutztown University. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows that day, because the Lady Rams were playing in extremely rainy conditions. Along with Daskivitch, Lareun Molin and Katie Clark all shot an identical 82 in the tough conditions. However, the stormy weather didn’t seem to bother them too much. Daskivitch spoke for her teammates by saying, “playing in rainy conditions is a part of the game. It tests your focus, and you just have to make smart decisions and play through it.” Freshman Lacey Bensing had a great round as well, as she carded an 83 in the first round, while senior Gabby Couture signed for an 86. Couture wasn’t too happy after her score of an 86, but was able to shed some positive light for going into the next day. “I didn’t have the best day out there, but the rest of the girls did. They put us in a great position going into day two and I’m really proud of them.” After the first day of competition at Clarion Oaks Golf Course, Youngstown State sat in the lead with a 310, while the Golden Rams were behind them with a score of 329 and closing.
On the second day of golf, Daskivitch once again paced the Lady Rams by carding a 165 for the 36-hole event. She also tied for ninth place individually, and was happy with her scores. The past few weeks, Daskivitch has shown an incredible amount of consistency in her scores, which is her goal of the season. When asking her thoughts on achieving her season goals, she was excited, but also grounded. “I’m really happy with my scores the past few tournaments, especially because I’m showing a lot of consistency. I am still always looking to improve, and as long as I stay focused and continue to work hard, I hope to post consistent scores for the rest of the season.”
Sophomore Katie Clark also posted solid scores at the Clarion Invite and is showing improvement. Clark shot an 82 on the rainy Sunday, and followed up with an 88 on Monday. Overall this placed her tied for 17th with a total score of 170. Clark hopes to also gain a sense of consistency this season. “I am happy with the scores from this weekend. There is still plenty of time to work on my game, and I’m looking forward on improving.” Clark has a positive mindset and is continuing to work hard on posting consistent scores in the low 80s.
Clark made an improvement in her scores this weekend at the Millersville Invitational, where she carded an 85 in the one-day tournament. There were some great scores posted on Sunday to help the Lady Rams win the tournament! Senior captain Gabby Couture was ecstatic with the win. She carded an 81, which was enough to earn second place individually. This was a great improvement from her round last weekend. At the Millersville Invitational Couture hit 10 fairways and 9 greens in regulation, putting her in great position to post low scores. She admits she couldn’t have a sweet win like this without her hardworking teammates. “All I wanted was to win a tournament in my four years as a Ram, and they made it happen! I’m so proud of them. We all worked really hard this past week at practice, and it paid off.” Couture and Daskivitch each signed for low scores in the 80s with an 81 and 82, while Lacey Bensing, Katie Clark and Lauren Molin carded scores in the mid 80s.
The women’s golf team has two tournaments left for their fall season. On October 5, they will head over to Kutztown for their fall invitational. That will be followed by their PSAC Championship Tournament located in the “Sweetest place on earth” in Hershey, Pa.
Best of luck to the Lady Rams next weekend at the Kutztown Invitational.
Jenna Hopkins can be reached at JH758665@wcupa.edu