After nearly three months away from competition, Indiana women’s golf began its spring season Monday at Shadow Wood Country Club in Naples, Florida. The Hoosiers took first place with a score of 300 over the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky in the one-day, 18-hole match.
“Expectations were just for us to compete,” head coach Brian May said in an interview Tuesday. “Coming out of the winter, this trip was all about us kind of knocking some winter rust off and get the competitive juices flowing to get us ready for the spring.”
The score of 300 put Indiana at 14 over par for the match — it’s highest score in relation to par since the third round of the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational on Sept. 10, when the Hoosiers shot 19 over par.
“I think at the end of the day our job was to beat the other two teams that we were playing against, so I think we did that like we wanted to,” May said. “I think the feedback from this one is we still do have some winter rust that we’ve got to knock off.”
Indiana was led by redshirt senior Caroline Smith, who scored 71. Smith was a medalist with her round of one under par.
“I thought Caroline did great,” May said. “She’s had a really good week, talked a lot about some different things that are going to set her up for the rest of the spring semester.
May highlighted the work Smith has put in over the winter months to improve her game, particularly in her approach to the short game — chipping and putting. May also complimented Smith’s on course mindset, pointing out her composure and competitiveness.
Other scoring players for the Hoosiers were junior Madison Dabagia, who shot a 74 (+2), freshman Cara Heisterkamp and senior Beatriz Junquiera, who scored a 76 (+4) and 79 (+7), respectively.
Even with a slow start to the spring season, May’s expectations for the reigning Big Ten champions remain the same.
“We’ve got a long way to go to do that,” May said. “And I think each of the players know kind of their path to being able to do that and to find the best parts of their game so that we can peak when it comes time to do compete in the Big Ten championship.”
But before the Hoosiers attempt to reclaim their Big Ten Conference title April 18-20, they will have five tournaments to prepare for their championship season, starting with the University of Central Florida Challenge on Feb. 2-4 at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.
“We’ve got to be a little bit more consistent in our practice,” May said. “A little bit more focused on the things that we know that work to get us prepared for UCF, which is coming up here in about a week and a half.”
