MESA, Ariz. – The NIACC women’s golf team begins play in the NJCAA national tournament Monday.
All four NIACC women qualified at the regional meet by placing in the top 15.
“The women have had a great two-year run and it was great to see the whole team qualify for the national tournament,” NIACC coach Chris Frenz said. “We felt very good about our chances heading into the regional tournament and we played two of our better back to back 18 holes with a 355-336.
“The 336 was our lowest score of the spring season. With all of them being sophomores they really relied on that experience to get them through to the nationals.”
The four sophomores are Alexandria Eckenrod and Mikayla Smith of Mason City, Sarah Steinauer of Clarinda and Moriah Sherman of Charles City.
Smith was fourth at the regional meet with a 82-78 – 160. Steinauer was eighth with a 89-86 – 175, Eckenrod was ninth with a 88-88 – 176 and Sherman was 14th with a 96-84 – 180.
The Lady Trojans played their regional meet on April 27-28 in Ankeny so they’ve had some time to prepare for the four-day, 72-hole national tournament.
“The weather hasn’t cooperated with us since we qualified for the tournament with 11 inches of snow and a lot of rain,” Frenz said. “but when they’ve had a chance to get out on the course and they’ve done so.
“A lot of it now is mental preparation, getting ready for the heat of Arizona and (four) straight days of 18-hole championship golf.”
Frenz said the attitude of his four sophomores is one attribute that stands out about them.
“They have such a great outlook on golf,” he said, “and one taking care of business in the classroom, as well.
“They are a dedicated group of young ladies and it’s been so much fun watching them grow into the player’s they’ve become over the past two years.”
The Lady Trojans will play on the Longbow Golf Club, which is a par 36-36 – 72.
“It is a desert course with a lot of sand along the fairways,” Frenz said, “and some water hazards mixed in.
“It’s a relatively long course (6,165 yards), but with the elevation and dry air the ball should fly farther for them and they shouldn’t really notice much difference. This will certainly be a test of their abilities and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Last year at the national meet, Smith placed 47th, Eckenrod was 57th and Steinauer was 77th.
“Our goal is to finish in the top 10 and to be the top Division II school in the tournament.
“Individually, they all want to improve on what they finished last year. Obviously, Moriah wasn’t there last year, but her goal is to try and get a top-75 finish, which would be fantastice out of around 125 golfers.”
