The women's golf team opened its spring season in Tampa, Fla. at the Snowbird Intercollegiate at Pebble Creek Country Club March 14-15. The Cardinals ended the first round in 11th place out of 22 teams with a score of 334.
The second day, however, they slipped to 16th, shooting 341. The team's total of 675 was 75 strokes behind the meet's winner, Arkansas State.
Head coach Shelley Sanders was satisfied with the team's performance the first day, but said the entire team was disappointed in its second-day score.
"(Eleventh place) on the first day is not bad considering it was our first competitive play of the season," Sanders said. "We didn't grind hard enough on the second day to pull it together and get the job done."
Though the goal of the trip was to win the Intercollegiate, the team took some time to take in the sights of Tampa.
"One free afternoon we went to the beach and on another we took a short trip to Busch Gardens," Sanders said. "Other than that, it was all golf. That's what we went down there to do."
Freshman Natalie Dallas was Ball State's top finisher, shooting 81 on both days. Sanders said, though, that Dallas was disappointed in her performance.
"Natalie's scores were reasonable considering it was our first time back, but she was not particularly thrilled with them," Sanders said. "Everyone expected to play better. We were disappointed collectively as a team in our second round."
Part of the reason for the higher score the second day was the Florida heat. The Cardinals are accustomed to playing in more temperate climates.
"It was really hot the whole week, particularly the second day,"Sanders said. "The heat and the elements were completely different from what we're used to."
Although the team returned from Florida disappointed, Sanders said the team's mistakes showed it what it needs to work on to prepare for its upcoming meets next weeks. The Cardinals have a dual match against Western Michigan in Muncie Saturday, and will travel to Avon to play in a meet hosted by Butler March 25-26.
"Our disappointing performance will motivate us to work harder," Sanders said. "We need to put together four good rounds and minimize our mistakes. We need to eliminate elementary mistakes altogether. We can't let one mistake turn into a high score."
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