The University of Indianapolis men’s golf team placed eighth at the third Midwest Regional of the season April 5-6 in Batavia, Ohio, while the women’s golf team won the IPFW Spring Classic April 6-7 in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Senior Amy Thompson takes a swing during a recent event earlier this season. Thompson and the women’s team have finished no worse than fifth all season long. (Photo contributed by Ryan Thorpe)
Out of the 29 teams that participated in the regional, the Greyhounds tied for eighth place with three other teams.
Junior Tucker Guisewite was the only Greyhound that claimed a spot inside the top 20, tying at 15th place with a final score of 149 (70-79).
Freshmen Evan Stoker and Andrew VanAelst tied for 24th and 36th, respectively, while senior Max Bowling placed 46th.
Stoker said that while the team’s scores were a bit high, he was overall happy with both the team’s and his own performance at the event.
“I think as a team we would want the scores to be a little bit lower. But I think I was pretty happy with what I did. It was a difficult golf course, so what I shot was pretty good, I felt like,” he said. “… By the end of the tournament, I was still pretty happy. I fought pretty hard, and I ended up playing pretty decent.”
The men’s team traveled to Batavia on Friday, April 4, to practice shooting on the golf course during the day. Stoker said that the same routine will be used when preparing for the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships this upcoming weekend and at the NCAA National Championships, which will take place May 19-23.
Stoker said that he hopes to lower his scoring average, keep his position among the top five players and look forward to improving in future seasons.
“Getting older and better, that can be done definitely,” he said. “I am excited to help the team out and see where we can go.”
As for the women’s team, five players from UIndy placed in the top 12 in its first place finish. Senior Jenny Konop tied for third, while senior Brianna Scheidler tied for sixth. Junior Chanice Young placed 12th, while sophomore Molly Ward tied for ninth and junior Regan Pittard also placed 12th. Senior Amy Thompson came in 20th, while junior Jaclyn Schindler followed at 37th and sophomore Zoey Freese took 42nd.
According to Young, the team practiced every day in advance leading up to the classic in order to bring the victory back home to Indy.
“My team played very well overall,” she said. “The first day was a little smoother, but we had much more wind the second day.”
With the season coming to an end next month, Young has begun setting high goals for next year, because as a senior it will be her last.
“I’d like to play the one or two spot for my team, since our top two are seniors,” she said. “Then I will have goals individually for myself in each tournament, to play better than the previous year.”
Both teams will prepare for postseason play in the GLVC Championships. The men’s championships will take place April 20-22 at the Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind., while the women’s championships will take place April 26-27 at the Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill. Tee times for both events have yet to be determined.
