The team begins fall season at home this Saturday and Sunday
By Jake Mosbach
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The Iowa women’s golf team will begin its fall campaign at home Saturday and Sept. 13, playing in the Diane Thomason Invitational.
Golfers will compete at the par-72 Finkbine Golf Course, playing 54 holes spanning the two-day tournament. Thirty-six holes will be played on Saturday, with the remaining 18 on Sept. 13. Both days will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.
This weekend, the Hawkeyes will host 11 teams: Bradley, Delaware, Harvard, Rutgers, Northern Illinois, North Florida, South Dakota State, Wichita State, Missouri State, Bowling Green, and Boston University.
Head coach Megan Menzel said Harvard enters the tournament as the highest-ranked competitor and should be considered the biggest threat to her squad.
Menzel said the Iowa lineup for the tournament features a wide range of experience levels.
Junior Jessie Sindlinger has the No. 1 spot for the tournament, with freshman Kristin Glesne taking the second position. Senior Amy Ihm, freshman Monika Poomcharoen, and sophomore Jessica Ip will round out the lineup. Sindlinger lead the team in average scoring this preseason.
Senior Briana Midkiff and sophomores Anna Kim, Elisa Suarez, and Morgan Kukla will compete unattached.
Menzel is optimistic that the Hawkeyes are well-prepared and ready to defend their home turf. The team finished second in last year’s Thomason Invitational, but Menzel says that winning the tournament this year is a realistic goal.
“We are going in with the idea that we will defend our home turf,” she said. “The team has prepared well. I really like how the whole team has been working. We have seen some great play up and down our roster.”
In an email, assistant coach Michael Roters agreed with Menzel about the team’s preparedness.
“This team has an amazing work ethic and is very open to new ideas and thoughts. [The golfers] want to get better and win,” he said.
Roters also cited great chemistry as a reason for the team’s potential success not only in the season-opener but also the rest of the season.
The first tournament of the season can always produce a bit of nerves, but expect Menzel to keep the Hawks under control.
“The team is very excited. We played a mock tournament this past weekend and hopefully, we worked out some of the nerves,” she said. “I think they’re feeling confident and ready to play.”
At the team’s photo day, Ihm said excitement would be more prevalent than nerves on Saturday.
“Playing in the summer definitely helps, but on the first hole [of the season], you kind of have to contain your excitement,” she said.
Menzel praised Ihm, along with Midkiff, for their tremendous leadership during the off-season and leading up to the season-opener.
Menzel noted that the two seniors will play their final tournament at Finkbine this weekend.
“I’m looking forward to watching Amy and Bri play at home this weekend,” Menzel said. “They have both contributed a lot to our team, and they provide great leadership.”
With the off-season out of the way and months of competitive golf ahead of the team, Menzel observed:
“Now it’s time to go out there and get the ball in the hole.”
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