Senior golfers end on fifth-place finish in GLVC tournament
Josh McCarty
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Sports
As the conference tournament began, several SIUE golfers' careers were coming to an end. The last tournament of the year was important to the team for conference standing, but for one Cougar, it offered an opportunity to leave a lasting impression.
SIUE senior Julie Cline finished the two-day Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament in fifth place with a score of 164, four strokes behind the leader. Her performance earned Cline all-conference recognition.
"This is my senior year, and it was just a really nice way to end my college golf career," Cline said. "It was really special that my family was able to attend and share the experience with me. They have been watching me golf since I was seven years old."
Cline started off with a round of 79 on Saturday and followed up Sunday, shooting 85.
"I made the goal for myself to break 80 (in both rounds)," Cline said. "Even though I didn't quite reach my goal, I think having that goal really helped to keep me focused."
Overall, SIUE finished in fifth place out of 12 teams. The Cougars shot a first-round 348 and second-round 347, finishing 35 strokes behind first-place Northern Kentucky.
"We placed ahead of UMSL and Lewis, two teams in which we played close with all year, which was one of our goals for the tournament," SIUE Head Coach Jennifer Jakel said.
For SIUE, senior Natalie Connaway, sophomore Kelsey Atteberry and junior Kirstin Fischer combined to shoot 27 strokes better Sunday than they did Saturday. Fischer had the largest turnaround, taking 15 strokes off of her first-day effort of 102 to come back with an 87 on Sunday.
"The fact that the course dried up a little for the second round helped the girls' scores improve on the second day," Jakel said. They all came out with a better feeling for the greens and knew that they could do nothing but improve upon their scores from the first round."
Sophomore Sheena Collins shot a 172 on the weekend to earn herself a tie for 17th overall. Collins shot an 82 on Saturday and followed up with a 90 on Sunday.
"I should be happy with my score, but honestly I am not," Collins said. "My drives were pretty good as well as my putting. I really couldn't get the irons shot up to par. I just know what I need to work on for next year."
While Collins can focus on next season, seniors Connaway, Cline and Kelly Morris will say goodbye. For Connaway, this weekend had a different feel than the rest.
"This tournament was much more emotional," Connaway said. "Golf has been huge part of all the senior girls' lives since we were kids, and now it is over. I will definitely miss the weekends full of nothing but golf with my best friends."
The GLVC tournament marked the fifth time this season SIUE finished in the top half of the field. They won one tournament on the season, taking first-place in the St. Louis Area Intercollegiate earlier this month.
SIUE senior Julie Cline finished the two-day Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament in fifth place with a score of 164, four strokes behind the leader. Her performance earned Cline all-conference recognition.
"This is my senior year, and it was just a really nice way to end my college golf career," Cline said. "It was really special that my family was able to attend and share the experience with me. They have been watching me golf since I was seven years old."
Cline started off with a round of 79 on Saturday and followed up Sunday, shooting 85.
"I made the goal for myself to break 80 (in both rounds)," Cline said. "Even though I didn't quite reach my goal, I think having that goal really helped to keep me focused."
Overall, SIUE finished in fifth place out of 12 teams. The Cougars shot a first-round 348 and second-round 347, finishing 35 strokes behind first-place Northern Kentucky.
"We placed ahead of UMSL and Lewis, two teams in which we played close with all year, which was one of our goals for the tournament," SIUE Head Coach Jennifer Jakel said.
For SIUE, senior Natalie Connaway, sophomore Kelsey Atteberry and junior Kirstin Fischer combined to shoot 27 strokes better Sunday than they did Saturday. Fischer had the largest turnaround, taking 15 strokes off of her first-day effort of 102 to come back with an 87 on Sunday.
"The fact that the course dried up a little for the second round helped the girls' scores improve on the second day," Jakel said. They all came out with a better feeling for the greens and knew that they could do nothing but improve upon their scores from the first round."
Sophomore Sheena Collins shot a 172 on the weekend to earn herself a tie for 17th overall. Collins shot an 82 on Saturday and followed up with a 90 on Sunday.
"I should be happy with my score, but honestly I am not," Collins said. "My drives were pretty good as well as my putting. I really couldn't get the irons shot up to par. I just know what I need to work on for next year."
While Collins can focus on next season, seniors Connaway, Cline and Kelly Morris will say goodbye. For Connaway, this weekend had a different feel than the rest.
"This tournament was much more emotional," Connaway said. "Golf has been huge part of all the senior girls' lives since we were kids, and now it is over. I will definitely miss the weekends full of nothing but golf with my best friends."
The GLVC tournament marked the fifth time this season SIUE finished in the top half of the field. They won one tournament on the season, taking first-place in the St. Louis Area Intercollegiate earlier this month.
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