The men’s golf team will tee off its spring season on Friday, March 30 at the Regional 2 Cherry Blossom Match in Georgetown, Ky.
Head coach Dean Ellis said he has a good feeling about the spring season. He said the team has had a really great opportunity to have some real practices due to the nice weather that has recently swept into the U.P.
“In normal springs, the weather affects our ability to train, but this year we are in great shape,” Ellis said. “The best part of it is, now when we are done in tournaments, we get to come back and practice.”
Junior Adam Huss said the team was able to take a trip downstate to the Novi area to play 54 holes of golf in preparation for the spring season.
“Normally we aren’t able to play until the first practice round of our first regional in the spring,” Huss said. “But being able to swing and work on things has been huge for us and will really show this spring.”
Ellis said the fall season for the Wildcats did not go as intended. The team was planning on finishing the fall season toward the middle as far as scores go, but they ended up in last place in the GLIAC.
Although unexpected, the low finish for the ’Cats’ fall season has not dampened Ellis’ spirits. He said the team has been doing a lot of work since it got back from winter break. The Wildcats practiced in the Superior Dome and did a lot of video swing analysis to prepare for the spring.
Ellis said he is excited about the team’s participation in the upcoming tournament, but he is not positive about the outcome just yet.
“It’s hard to say for the first tournament, but I hope we do well just based on the amount of practice we have been able to have,” Ellis said. “We are feeling really good about how we are swinging at the ball and we have put a lot of work in, so hopefully it pays off.”
Huss plans on helping his teammates out this spring by improving his scoring average. As one of the oldest on a team of primarily underclassmen, he has the advantage of experience that he hopes his teammates will achieve in the spring season.
“We are hoping that the freshmen are getting used to playing with the college teams and the atmosphere of the tournaments,” Huss said. “I think we will have a better spring than fall.”
Ellis said his goals for the season are primarily to improve the team’s position in the GLIAC standings.
“We need to move up from the position we are in,” Ellis said. “We need to get toward the middle of the pack, and hopefully if we do that it will help us out for next year.”
