Senior golfer Jenny Niemiec, the lone senior on the team, talked about her final season with the Northern Star.

Niemiec has had her ups and downs on the golf course this season, but she’s looking to bounce back for the April 25 MAC Championships.

Northern Star: By looking at the statistics, you could conclude the March 7 to 9 Rio Verde Invitational has been your best outing of the spring so far. Would you agree?

Jenny Niemiec: I played really well there, and it’s the second time I’ve golfed that course because we went last year. I just really like the course, and it was like perfect conditions, and I was hitting the ball really well. Everything was just working out for [me] down there.

NS: After not playing golf your freshman year at South Carolina you transferred here halfway through your sophomore season when Pam Tyska was the head coach. Coach Kim Kester has been in charge your last two seasons. How has your relationship grown with her?

JN: I actually consider her one of my friends. She has been more than understanding with [the] situation I had when I transferred here, and it’s helped not only myself but my family in more ways than I could pretty much ask her to do. She’s been great. All positive on my end on her. I look at her as more of a friend; I tell her a lot.

NS: Outside of the Rio Verde Invitational, [it] seems like you have had some troubles on other courses. Could you take some time out and critique how you feel your spring season has [gone]?

JN: This year has been a little rough for me. My swing kind of feels a little bit off; I don’t have as much confidence as I did last year. I don’t know; I’ve been working on my swing and trying to make changes, but stuff like that hasn’t worked out that well.

NS: Going into your last tournament as a Huskie, could you reflect on any standout seasons or tournaments you’ve had?

JN: As far as tournament, I’d say Rio Verde down in Arizona. We got to stay with host families, and I got the same person hosting the past two years. She’s great. I’ve kept in contact even after the tournaments. This year has been my favorite year. … I’m really close with the team we have this year. We all hang out outside of golf, which we didn’t really do a lot of before. It’s a good way to end my career here.

NS: [Do you have] any goals or expectations going into MAC Championships?

JN: I’d love as a team to finish top five; that’d be fantastic. The last couple years we’ve struggled at MAC as a team, but this past season we’ve been playing pretty well and putting up a fight against a lot of MAC schools. So, to finish strong as a team.

NS: The future of NIU golf is in the hands of the talented underclassmen group. Do you feel they have a bright future ahead of them?

JN: They are a great group of girls, all very hardworking. They are very young right now with two of them being freshmen and two being sophomores. The way they are playing now, things can only get better, and in two or three years, hopefully they can get it going well enough that they can make a name for NIU in the MAC … .