Excitement surrounds the men’s and women’s golf teams, as the men host the John Piper Intercollegiate Invitational, and the women will play the Wolverine Invite.
The Bowling Green golf teams will both be in action this weekend. The women are traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take on the Wolverines in the Wolverine Invitational, while the men stay close to home and host the John Piper Intercollegiate Tournament, at Stone Ridge Golf Course. Both teams are undoubtedly skeptical about this weekend, what with somewhat inexperienced teams.
The women came charging out of the gates last weekend with a fifth-place finish in the Ball State Cardinal Classic. They hope to keep the momentum going as they prepare to play the always-competitive Wolverine Invitational, a two-day, 54-hole tournament. The tournament field, which includes two Big 10 teams and four MAC teams, will certainly be tough.
All eyes will certainly be on junior Jenny Schnipke, who was the top finisher for the Falcons last weekend. Schnipke was just 2 shots off the pace last tournament, and will certainly boost the team if she has a similar performance this weekend.
“Jenny’s playing real well right now, but the whole team is looking great and improving,” senior Stephanie Elsea said. “It’s really up for grabs for who is going to lead us in this weekends tournament.”
Elsea finished in the top 20 last weekend and is optimistic for the Wolverine Invitational as well.
“I think we are all ready for this weekend. We practiced really hard and are all playing well and should be ready to take on Michigan.”
Coach Thomas believes that the Falcons will be ready for this weekend’s tournament. With their good finish last week he is feeling a little more confident going to Ann Arbor.
The men, who are playing host this weekend to the John Piper Intercollegiate Tournament, would certainly like to repeat last year’s winning performance and get the season off on the right foot. They will have to wait until Sunday, however, because the tournament gets a late start that day and lasts through Tuesday.
As mentioned, this 54-hole tournament is being held at Stone Ridge Golf Course, right here in Bowling Green.
To defend their John Piper Intercollegiate Tournament title, the Falcons will certainly look to junior Andy Miller and sophomore Craig Pickerel to the lead the way. Pickerel finished with the best score in the qualifiers and will have many eyes on him as he tees off on Sunday. The John Piper will be a good chance to watch the young Falcons; being their first tournament of the year, it will be the first chance for this Falcons team to prove themselves. The team seems very optimistic that they will be able to do just that.
