GOLF CLOSES FALL SEASON WITH BEST EVER GLVC RANKING

Truman State University’s women’s golf team finished up its fall season Oct. 24 at the Trevecca Nazarene Invitational. The last released rankings had the ‘Dogs in seventh place out of 14 total teams in conference, the best they have been ranked since joining the GLVC in 2013.

Junior Amanda Ressel says the hard work in the summer really paid off for the team. With the ability to consistently keep the team scores low, the ‘Dogs watched their conference ranking rise.

Because winter is right around the corner, golf can be hard to continue to improve for the upcoming championship season. Sophomore Brooke Kelley says the team still does everything it can to work on athletes’ abilities during the cold months. Kelley says the athletes focus on their swing and short game by hitting into nets in the gym for their practices.

Head Coach Clint Fitzpatrick says he expects the ‘Dogs to continue to improve despite the winter months.

“Last season our leaders did a great job of encouraging everyone to go to the gym and stay active, and I expect they will do the same this winter,” Fitzpatrick says.

Along with working on their short game, Fitzpatrick says conditioning will be a key factor in preparation for the first tournaments in the spring. Fitzpatrick says the ‘Dogs will travel to very competitive tournaments right away that will show how far they’ve come. To carry over the successes from the fall, Fitzpatrick says the small mistakes have to be eliminated, especially because they often compound throughout the round. He says the main goal for the spring season is to finish every round strong and stay focused throughout the season.