Women’s golf takes 1st place

The+women%E2%80%99s+golf+team+celebrates+a+win+April+10+at+the+Kansas+City+Shootout.+The+team+begins+MAC+Championships+April+21+in+Cleveland.

The women’s golf team celebrates a win April 10 at the Kansas City Shootout. The team begins MAC Championships April 21 in Cleveland.

By Tom Burton

DeKALB — The women’s golf team shot a 303 in the final round, which was the low round of the day, to secure the victory April 10 at the Kansas City shootout.

The Huskies (308-308-303 — 919) had the lead going into the final round and were able to hold on in their final regular season match to secure their second victory of the spring season.

“It was a good tournament overall for the ladies in tough conditions,” said Head Coach Kim Kester. “I’m glad to see them fight it out for three rounds. It is definitely a confidence booster going into the [MAC Championships].”

The Huskies were led by two third place overall finishes from senior Lena Gautier (75-78-75 — 228) and sophomore Brielle Ward (77-77-74-228), who led a team of five that finished in the top-15 individually.

“It’s great to see [Gautier and Ward] playing well at this time of the year,” Kester said. “Both of them had a solid event.”

The Huskies also received a ninth-place finish from junior Andrea Agniel (78-79-76 — 233), a 14th place finish from freshman Isabella Samudio (80-77-78 — 235) and a tied-for-15th place finish from sophomore Kelly Anderson (78-76-82 — 236).

Kester complimented Agniel, who is coming into form after being left out of the rotation earlier in the spring season.

“[Agniel’s] game is getting back to where it was in the fall,” Kester said. “She made a lot of [good swings] this weekend, and we’re excited to see what she can do in the future.”

Kester said the good performance should be credited to the team’s good course management throughout the tournament, especially in the final round.

“We put ourselves in [good] positions around the greens,” Kester said. “Also, with up-and-downs, we were more successful.”

With the regular season over and the MAC tournament approaching, Kester and the coaching staff know the team can continue to improve even with their recent success.

“There are a few things we need to get better at, but we know we can do it,” Kester said. “We’re very happy with the progress the team has made this spring. There’s definitely a lot of confidence going into the MAC [Championships] with two wins this spring.”

The MAC Championships begin April 21 and go on to April 23 in Cleveland before the NCAA Championships occur from May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.