The golf team packed their bags and made the long trip to Elyria, Ohio on Friday, Oct. 13 to compete in the GLIAC Championship.

The Wildcats finished the tournament in 12th with a team score of 950.

Freshman Patrick Sweeney said the team’s scores were not as low as they had hoped, but that did not dampen his spirits about the weekend in general.

“The weather conditions were tough on Saturday so we were not too disappointed with what we shot,” Sweeney said. “We were hoping to make a lot of pars in the days following and try to move up on the leaderboard as much as we could.”

Sweeney led NMU all tournament and finished in a tie for 47th place.

“My putting was definitely what kept me in the seventies,” Sweeney said. “I was just hoping to hit some greens in regulation, and if my putting keeps up, my score should take care of itself.”

Sophomore Ayrton Mantha was second for NMU and 50th overall with a score of 235.

Head coach Dean Ellis said the team lost one of its top players early in the season, so it was difficult for them to gain any momentum this season.

“When you lose your top player off of any team, it is a challenge,” Ellis said. “That is a very big factor for us.”
This tournament marked the end of the fall season for the ’Cats.

As they prepare for the spring season, Sweeney said the team is hoping to spend a lot of time hitting practice golf balls off of mats in the dome this winter.

“Living in the U.P. makes it very difficult to practice golf in the winter and spring,” Sweeney said. “But we are going to practice as much as we can.”

Ellis said he is generally disappointed in the team’s fall season, but he is hopeful for the spring.

“A couple of tournaments got in the way of how we finished, and it was not a good situation to be in,” Ellis said. “We will be working hard this winter to put us in a good position for the spring.”

The ’Cats will kick off their spring season with the NCAA Regional tournament on the weekend of Friday, April 5 in Georgetown, Ky.