As the summer draws to a close, many people try to cram in some last minute time at the golf course before heading back to work or school. For the BG women’s golf team, the start of the school year also marks the start of the collegiate golf season.
In the program’s fifth year under coach Stephanie Young, the team will beef up it’s roster with three incoming out-of-state freshmen – Jennifer Blanchard, of Fishers, Ind.; Susannah Grunden of Krum, Tex.; and Amy Ruthenberg, of East Lansing, Mich. – to try to improve on last spring’s last-place finish at the Mid-American Conference championships.
‘All three young women bring tournament experience and know how to win,’ Young said. ‘All are very solid students and, most importantly, are the type of people who will continue to represent our University and golf program in a first-class way.’
Senior Hannah Lambert is excited for her new teammates to join the squad this fall.
‘[The girls] are all different in their personalities and playing styles,’ Lambert said. ‘They all bring something to the team that’ll help us out this season.’
According to Lauren, her and her teammate and twin, Marisa, get a lot of playing time in during the summer.
‘Everyone [on the team] does their own thing during the summer,’ Lauren said. ‘We have a workout plan that we try to stick to as much as we can. My sister and I are members of a club, and we play as much as we can. It’s basically all we do during the summer.’
Lambert spent some time in Cleveland this summer, finishing in the top 10 of an amateur tournament.
‘I’ve been practicing and playing a lot this summer,’ Lambert said. ‘I was in third going into the last day of the Cleveland women’s amateur tournament and finished in sixth place.’
With players spread out from Pennsylvania to Minnesota and Texas to Canada, Lambert says the women try to get together throughout the summer both as teammates and as friends.
‘We try to go to the same tournaments [during the summer] so we can see each other,’ Lambert said. ‘We’ve also gotten together [on some] weekends just to hang out.’
Glew said that she and her teammates participated in several tournaments this summer, including two Adidas tour competitions.
‘Most of our team plays [in the Adidas tour] as well as some girls from Toledo,’ she said. ‘One was at the Firestone Country Club, and one was at Redhawk in Findlay.’
In her last season as a Falcon athlete, Lambert says that she just wants to enjoy this year.
‘I’m really excited for this season,’ Lambert said. ‘I can’t believe how fast it’s gone. I just want to go out and leave nothing on the course, be competitive and enjoy my last year at BG.’
Young is looking forward to the opportunities the fall will bring to the team.
‘Our fall schedule offers many new events and golf courses with a variety of opportunities to see what we can accomplish,’ Young said. ‘I look for all players to improve their scoring averages as well. Overall, we want to play more consistent golf with increased confidence and trust in our abilities and preparation.’
Glew said she is going to try and focus on carrying over her fall successes to the spring season.
‘In the past, I’ve had a pretty good fall record, but spring has been a letdown,’ she said. ‘This year I’d like to break my scoring record and focus on being consistent from the fall to the spring.’
Her BG scoring record of 74 was set two seasons ago at the PGA Junior Westbrook where she finished second, and with her goals and several new players being added to the lineup, she is looking forward to this year.
‘We had a pretty small team last year,’ Glew said. ‘[The incoming freshmen] are strong players and that will make the team more competitive. We will have to qualify more for positions, which I really enjoy, and I’m excited to see how we crack a lineup.’
Young and her squad will kick off their fall season at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate Invitational in Waynesville, N.C., on Sept. 19.
