The women’s golf team came in fourth at the College of Wooster Spring Invitational on Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 16.

“We had our second lowest two-day tournament score since Denison last semester, which was our first tournament, so that was incredible,” Kayla Orr, ’18, said. “This was also the first tournament where the conditions were good. We’ve been playing in a lot of wet and rainy weather, and even if it’s not raining during tournaments, the ground is still wet so it’s harder to play. But with this one the course drained really well, and we had good conditions.”

Orr shot her best round of the season on day one with a score of 86, placing her nineteenth overall heading into the second day. On day two, she scored 90, Allegheny’s third-place finish and twenty-first overall.

“The team dynamic was really strong at Wooster. We were coming around as a team, our personalities are really clicking together and that really helps boost morale when we’re playing,” Ali Metzger, ’19, said. “When we’re in between holes, we’ll yell or check in and it really helps because it shows that you’re playing for your team not just for yourself.”

Metzger tied for eleventh on day one with a score of 84 and finished out the weekend with a score of 80 on day two, placing her sixth overall.

Paige Galloway, ’18, said that the course was very hilly and caused some challenges for the women throughout the weekend.

“The greens were awful. They were super sloped. You thought it would break one way, then it would go the opposite direction,” Galloway said. “I think the second day we all putted better because we all knew what was happening. It was also hard because the putting green was not the same as the greens on the course.”

On the first day, Galloway matched her season best score of 82, tying for ninth heading into day two. In the second round, Galloway closed out with 86 to finish twelfth.

“When we met as a team on Monday, we discussed how our rounds went and what we specifically have to do to improve, and this week we’re really focusing in on the areas of our game that were weak in the past few tournaments,” Metzger said. “I think because of the greens and how difficult they were this past weekend, it’s really showed us that we need to work on our putting in order to perform well this weekend.”

Heading into the NCAC Championship Series, the women are working on simple fixes and staying positive through rounds.

“Our mental game is huge and usually affects our scores. If we’re out there having a good time, having fun, our scores are usually a lot better than if we’re just being negative,” Orr said. “I think going into NCACs this upcoming week and the week after, our heads are going to be in it and we’re going to play better because of that.”

This year the NCAC Championship Series will be hosted in Meadville at The Country Club of Meadville. The past three years’ NCAC Championship Series has been hosted at other colleges and the women are looking forward to having the support of the Allegheny community at this year’s competition.

Orr said she is excited that their tournament is at home. She said playing tournaments at home brings greater support from people at the college.

“Because we travel a lot, we don’t necessarily see that all the time, so I’m very excited for that,” Orr said.

The team is ranked sixth but is looking to improve their standing this weekend against competitors they have played previously this season.

“It’s been hard the past couple of years because we were such a young team, but now that we’re getting older and practicing more and becoming more aware of our golf game, it’s really helped and I think that it’s going to show this weekend,” Galloway said. “It’s going to be fun that everyone will be traveling to our home course, and we’ll have the advantage over traveling other places.”

The women will play in the Championship Series on Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23.