The Murray State Women’s Golf team took a victory for their first match of the spring season at the Racer Classic.
Foul weather conditions made for a tough match at the Racer Classic last week. However, despite the cold rain and wind, the Murray State Women’s Golf team came out on top.
Senior golfer from Nykoping, Sweden, Alexandra Lennartsson, believes that those harsh weather conditions were exactly what the team needed to prepare it for the upcoming match in Sevierville, Tenn., hosted by conference member Tennessee Tech.
“It just makes you mentally tougher,” Lennartsson said.
Aside from playing in various types of weather, Lennartsson says the team is preparing everyday in practice.
“There’s been a lot of short game practice,” Lennartsson said.
Coach Velvet Milkman says a good short game is one of the most important strengths a collegiate golfer can have.
Milkman also says that she believes her players can have success in Sevierville.
“We’re going to see a lot of the OVC schools which we’re excited about, and I feel very confident that we can go in and compete for the title in the tournament,” Milkman said.
Nevertheless, Milkman says the team will need to work on a few things before the tournament.
“We spent a lot of time this weekend working on our short game,” Milkman said. “I saw in our first tournament that we needed to get better in our chipping and putting.”
As a player, Lennartsson believes that every team member has one thing in common, they need improvement.
“You can always get better,” Lennartsson says. “We just have to keep working hard.”
Lennartsson says that her and her teammates practice 3 hours every day as well as putting in their own individual practice time. However, Lennartsson said practice isn’t the only way she prepares for a match.
“I always listen to my own music going to the golf course,” Lennartsson said. “There are a lot of Swedish songs for sure.”
Lennartsson also says that Milkman’s speeches always do the trick.
“I just always try to remind them that they are prepared for the situation that we put them in because we work very, very hard,” Milkman said. “(I tell them) no matter what situation they are going to face during those 18 holes, they have the skills and preparation to handle it.”
The Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate is a two-day tournament on March 18-19 at Sevierville Golf Club.
Story by Taylor Crum, Contributing writer.