FINDLAY – The golf season allows little time to prepare, so it falls upon the athlete to get ready before August rolls around.
The Lady Giants’ golf team teed off the 2019 fall season Monday, with just two official practices under their belt after the Aug. 1 start date. While the team is far from where it hopes to eventually be, coach Nicole Kulasa saw plenty to like in her team’s season debut.
“I saw a lot of good things,” Kulasa said. “They were making solid contact, some were putting really well. Others had some chips that were great. I think we had all the pieces of good round, but now it’s about putting it all together.”
Adding to Kulasa’s optimism is further signs of growth within the program. Two years ago, the program consisted of four girls, the bare minimum required for a team score. This season Kulasa has 12 golfers – enough to field a junior varsity schedule and create competition for varsity slots.
“I think there will be competition throughout the year,” she said. “I’m in the process of finishing out a JV schedule and there will be JV matches girls will play in too. Our schedule will be a little bit more demanding and hopefully they’ll take it a little more serious. I think there will be some more competition in practice and they’ll start working harder for themselves.”
Monday’s season-opener kicked off the Three Rivers Athletic Conference portion of the schedule with the first of four regular season league jamborees. The Lady Giants placed fifth out of the six-team field, with a team score of 460 – 31 shots ahead of Whitmer. But work remains to be done as Ross finished behind Findlay (26 shots back) and Clay (50 shots).
Sophomore Alana Smith led Ross with a 90, the sixth-lowest individual score of the day and the lowest by anyone not from St. Ursula or Notre Dame academies. Shelby Level followed with a 109 with Mekhia Williams shooting 125 and Alissa Berry adding a 136.
“We beat Whitmer and I think that was a huge accomplishment for them, but they saw where the other teams were, and I think they want to be there. On the bus ride home, we talked about what we did well and what we want to work on and all of them had something they want to work on for our next match.”
The Lady Giants return to action Thursday morning at Eagles Landing Golf Course for the season’s second TRAC jamboree.