Women’s golf is back to its regular style of play after it had a different experience when it traveled to Lakewood Ranch, Fla., for the eight-team MAC Match Play tournament last weekend.

The Huskies participated in their first match play-based event under second-year head coach Kim Kester. All other events during the season have been and will be stroke play-based events. The change of play was well received by the Huskies.

“[The team] all liked it,” Kester said. “Most of them have played match play before. We have a lot of them that prefer match play because it allows you to have that one battle, and you’re not going to shoot yourself in the foot so to speak and have to struggle to make those shots up. It’s one battle; big deal, you might lose the hole, but you can get it back on the next one, and go back to all squared.”

Match play is becoming more common in college golf. The NCAA is working on a portion of the Women’s National Championship tournament involving some match play scoring for the eight teams who qualify for the final stretch of the national championship stage.

“Starting, I think, next year, they are now including a match play format into the women’s NCAA championships,” Kester said. “The men already have it in their’s; it will just be the national championship where there will still be some stroke play involved. Then, they will also have some match play after stroke play, [but] only so many schools will qualify for the match-play portion.”

Stroke play is about playing the ball and working to lower an individual score. Match play gives the games a more competitive edge, with each golfer having their own opponent to beat.

“In match play, you’re playing a specific opponent,” director of golf Tom Porten said. “Each player is trying to beat that other player, however they are slotted.”

Sophomore Connie Ellett thinks match play should become more common.

“I loved match play. If everything could be match play I would love it,” Ellett said. “I liked the competitiveness at every hole. I also like that if, say your opponent makes a birdie and I make an eight on the hole. Well, I will only be down one if we are playing match play instead of down five like in stroke play. I just feel it’s more head to head competition which I like a lot of the pressure and the feeling of coming back from behind.”

Unlike Ellett, match-play scoring was a brand new experience for sophomore Sam Coyne.

“That was my first time in match play ever,” Coyne said. “I never played a tournament before as far as match play and I think it was a good experience for me. It was a good time, and I think we played pretty well for it being our first spring tournament.”