DeKalb | Senior women’s golfer Jenny Niemiec has been working hard to get over her early season struggles.

Niemiec has not had a great start to her senior season, carding a 163 (83-80) at the Red Bird Invitational and a 162 (81-81) at the Cougar Classic.

“To be honest I am not happy with the way I have been playing,” Niemiec said. “I had a rough summer with a lot of things going on. It is coming back slowly; coach and I have been working and improving on things.”

Head coach Kim Kester said Niemiec’s short game has shown improvement since the start of the season.

“We have pinpointed what she needs to work on,” Kester said. “Last year she was having trouble hitting off the tee. She is struggling the most this season in her putting — it is not where it needs to be — but she has dedicated a lot of time to that and we are starting to see the numbers come down.”

Niemiec feels her spring 2013 season has been the highlight of her NIU career.

“I played really well most of the tournaments,” Niemiec said. “I had a one-under 71 in Las Vegas, which was the best I have golfed here at Northern. As a team we were playing great as well and moved up the rankings a lot.”

Niemiec finished all six of her spring events inside the top 30. Her 71 round at the Lady Bison Classic was the lowest by any Huskie for the season.

Niemiec finished in eighth at the Falcon Invitational, which was her second-best finish on the season. During the MAC Championship she was the top NIU finisher, tying for 26th (81-79-83=243).

Despite the rough start to the year Kester still sees Niemiec fulfilling her role as the senior voice on the roster.

“She has been good. She has definitely helped our one freshman [Sydney Brickey] transition … smoothly,” Kester said. “The whole team has been very welcoming of Sydney. She is doing stuff that seniors do and has been great in all different aspects — not just golf itself, but being a student, and how to go about time in the weight room as well.”

Niemiec feels she has bonded well with Brickey.

“She is one of my really good friends on the team,” Niemiec said. “We get along very well. I am excited she is here. She has made it really fun so far this year.”

To finish out the fall season and entering the spring season Niemiec has a few goals in mind.

“Ideally I want to get my game back to how it was last spring,” Niemiec said. “I want to be in contention to win at least one tournament, but more importantly I want the team to move up in the MAC rankings.”

Niemiec and NIU are in Kansas City, Mo., competing in the Kangaroo Fall Invitational, which wraps up Tuesday. The final round starts at 8 a.m.