With the season at an end, Iowa women’s golf is right back at it preparing for this upcoming fall and the start of the first half of the 2015-2016 season. 

The team finished off the 2014-2015 season placing 10th at the Big Ten Championship out of 14 teams and not qualifying for regionals, which is something the team is setting its eyes on making next year. 

“Our main goal we are really looking at is to get to regionals next year,” head coach Megan Menzel said. 

Iowa finished up ranked at No. 92 overall in the country, requiring the team to climb quite a few spots in order to reach its goal of being in the top 50. 

But, Menzel is confident in the team’s abilities to continue to gain ground from this year’s ranking.

“These are the best scoring averages that we’ve had in the past few years that I’ve been here as far as a collective group,” Menzel said. “Three of them were at 76.3, 76.4, and 76.5 and then we had two of them right at 77.7. 

Menzel was happy with how the top five players lowered their average scores toward the mid-70’s range and believes it is a good sign for the team. 

Sophomore Jessie Sindlinger said she wants to practice for actual scenarios in golf, not just simply practice different skills.

“Getting in any situation you can to where you have a lot of pressure can be the difference in your game,” Sindlinger said.  “If you’re not good under pressure it could really hurt you.”

Playing in off-season tournaments is the answer, and Sindlinger will play in several tournaments this summer. 

Freshman Morgan Kukla is also looking forward to next season after improving greatly in her game in her first season of collegiate golf.   

“I’ve made a huge mental leap this year,” Kukla said.  “Perfection was everything and I used to get super upset on the course.  Just being able to stay calm after a bad shot was a huge leap.”  

With younger players such as Sindlinger and Kukla improving, the team is getting better every year even with the loss of seniors  Jessie Jordan, Shelby Phillips, and Nicole Rae in 2015.

To help fill this gap, the team has recruited two players — Monika Poomcharoen from Temecula, California, and Kristin Glesne from San Antonio.

“We don’t have any international players,” Menzel said.  “But hopefully, we can add a few more in the future.”

But with strong first- and second-year players, Menzel is confident that the team will continue to get better. 

“I expect really big things,” Menzel said. “And it’s been awesome, since we’ve been back from Big Tens I think they’ve been hungry and they’re ready to see improvement not only in themselves but in the team going forward.”

Follow @RodEngblom on Twitter for news, updates, and analysis about the Iowa women’s golf team.