The Gophers women’s golf team has shot 65-over, 52-over and 44-over-par in its last three tournaments. It will look to continue trending towards lower scores this weekend at the Rebel Intercollegiate.
Minnesota improved its finishes with each meet. It was last in the UCF Challenge, 12th out of 15 teams at the Central District Invitational and sixth out of 12 teams at the Clover Cup.
“I’m excited because we’ve played really well the last two weeks,” head coach Michele Redman said. “I’m actually pretty antsy to get out on the road and see how the ladies are going to perform.”
The final round of the Clover Cup concluded March 18, meaning the Gophers will have had 18 days off when they tee off Friday for the Rebel Intercollegiate. Redman said she welcomed the time off.
The team’s fall schedule had a lot of back-to-back weekend matches, and scheduling was at times difficult because of the golfers’ schooling.
The Rebel Intercollegiate, which will be played at the Ole Miss Golf Course in Oxford, Miss., features 15 teams and includes No. 16 ranked Baylor.
Minnesota shuffled its lineup after its last-place showing at the UCF Challenge and inserted freshman Anna Laorr. She shot 234 and 227 in the team’s next two events. The 227 score was the second lowest on the team at the Clover Cup.
Redman has emphasized practicing the shots around the green but said that she does not have specific benchmarks for her team with only two events left before the Big Ten championships.
“As long as they keep improving and as long as they keep working on their short game, I really think that we’ll do well with what we have at the Big Ten,” Redman said. “I’m not setting any scores; I’m not looking at where we’re going to finish. I just want them to keep getting better.”
Redman has taken that same approach all season with her young team. The Gophers’ squad is made up of two juniors, one sophomore, three redshirt freshmen and three true freshmen. She said she has seen improvement in the team, and it’s showing with their dropping scores.
“I just think they’re just getting better because they’re working harder, they’re practicing and they’re enjoying it,” Redman said.
