A fifth career title, a Ball State record and new confidence in a reshaped roster are all products of consistency.
Jenna Hague, a junior on the Ball State women’s golf team, earned medalist honors at the season-opening Redbird Invitational on Monday. Hague’s 1-under par performance also matched the Ball State 54-hole scoring record.
“It’s really rewarding,” she said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it out there. I didn’t know [about the record] but it shows consistent play, and that’s been my main goal lately, to play consistently.”
After bogeying her 15th hole of the day, Hague was behind the tournament leader by one stroke. However, she birdied two of the final three holes to move into first place.
“Today was more difficult, I wasn’t quite as sharp as I was before,” Hague said. “Our team goal and expectation is to play in the moment. I think we did that.”
Just as solid in her return to action was senior Meghan Perry, who set a career best 54-hole total. She paired with Hague to lead a Ball State team that graduated two seniors last year.
“It’s just a treat to have those two,” head coach Katherine Mowat said. “They’re wonderful people, they’re incredible talents and they’re example-setting leaders for us.”
Hague said there was some uncertainty surrounding Ball State going into the tournament after graduating Zoe Camus and Autumn Duke. The team’s second-place finish reassured her that the loss of leaders wouldn’t be detrimental.
“We didn’t get everything out of the tournament,” Hague said. “It’s not like we went in there and played as well as we could have, but we did eliminate some of the question marks and got some really solid play.”
Senior Mary Welch and sophomore Karley Dobis both did “what was needed” at key moments to keep Ball State in good position. Ball State edged Bowling Green State by one stroke with a final team score of 902.
Mowat said she was happy with the team’s first showing, and she is excited to see it progress through out the year. She said the individual accolades and awards for Hague and Perry will drive them play even better in the future.
“It’s really awesome to get your name on something like that,” Hague said. “I know I’ve got two years left, so hopefully I can beat that, but I’m not worried about that right now. ... We’re hoping to build on this momentum. We’ve got a really good schedule this year.”
