BY Jack Ravitz
Staff Reporter
The women’s golf team held their annual SHU Spring Invite on April 7 and 8. The tournament took place at the Great River Golf course located in Milford, Conn, which is the Pioneers’ home course.
The team came off a fourth place finish at the Lady Cat Invitational, which took place from March 7 through 8 in Daytona Beach, Fla. According to Athletic Communications, senior Chelsea Sedlar and freshman Hana Bowman both finished tied for ninth.
“We really shined at the Lady Cat Invitational and I think the momentum from those good scores will push us through conference,” said Sedlar.
After the Lady Cat Invitational, the team had time off to prepare for the final stretch of the season. This allowed for extended time to practice for the SHU Invite and next week’s North East Conference (NEC) Championships.
“Since we returned from our spring trip we have been focusing on our proximity to the hole and driving accuracy,” said head coach Matthew McGreevy. “We are building for the conference championship and we are looking to use our home event as a springboard for a successful conference championship.”
Siena College won the first day of the competition by 14 points over Sacred Heart. Siena had 318 points on the day while Sacred Heart had 332.
Going into the match, both McGreevy and his players were feeling confident because of their knowledge of the course.
“It’s always a big mental advantage to play on our home course,” said Sedlar. “Great River is one of the more challenging courses that we play on and being able to play there every day is a big advantage over our competitors who only get to see it during the practice round.”
The SHU Invite included Siena College, University of Hartford, Monmouth University, Fairfield University, College of the Holy Cross, and St. Francis Brooklyn.
Heading into the tournament, Sedlar also understood that with hosting a tournament comes the expectations of good results.
“It can also add the pressure of needing to perform well because we play there every day, but we try to not focus on expectations and just play the best we can,” said Sedlar.
So far this spring, the team has played their tournaments in South Carolina and Florida. For the first time, the players were going to have to prepare for the cooler conditions.
“The cooler weather has a lot of impact on the game. First of all, if the ball is cold there is less compression, and the ball will not travel as far, so there is a distance adjustment,” said Sedlar. “The weather can also impact swing because wearing more layers makes it harder to rotate through the ball.”
The team will now be shifting their attention to the NEC Championships that will be taking place in Florida from April 12 through 14.
“I think we are all prepared for conference and are aiming to win conference. We used the SHU Invite as a practice tournament to get ready for the mental pressure of conference,” said junior Ana Contreras.
On April 13 and 14 the men’s golf team will be hosting their annual SHU Invite before they begin conference playoffs as well.
