After years of lackluster finishes, Coach Jake Nietfeldt is optimistic about the Women’s Golf season

“We were always finishing towards the bottom of the leaderboard, but this year we have shown a lot more promise,” he said. “We showed some fire in the fall. We had Sophie Lee shoot two under 70, the school record for us. Winnie Hung, Kaitlin Valiska and Haley Wolf are all also good key players.

“We’ve been able to finish top half of the field a good amount,” said Nietfeldt. “In our first event this spring, we were in third place through about 15 holes before it got rained out.”

Newcomers to the team have helped the team grow, according to the coach. One of those newcomers, junior Business major Cat Swiercz, agrees.

“They bring a whole different dynamic to the team culture,” she said. “We have Winnie and Sophie from Taiwan, our Canadian Shelby and our local teammates. Just having everyone [from] different cultures coming together, we have a great time.”

Swiercz says the culture of the team helps each player reach her individual goals. “We … support each other’s goals,” she said.

Swiercz said her personal goal is to consistently shoot below 80.

“I have shot 70 a few times, and I want to shoot 70s every tournament, and I am still looking for a 60 on my score card,” she said. “Sixty would be crazy, but anything is possible. Thoughts become things, and if you think about it, it is pulling it into perspective.”

Like Nietfeldt, Swiercz believes the team is in for a great Spring season.

The team will compete next at Ohio Dominican University on April 7 and 8, and the GLIAC Championship will be on April 25 to 27. The rournaments can be streamed live on FloCollege.