By Will Menser, Staff Writer
Golf season is coming to a close for Asbury. Both the men’s and the women’s seasons ended with the River States Conference Tournament. Before the season kicked off, both the men’s and women’s teams performed exceptionally well in the RSC Fall Preview with the men placing second and the women placing first. Repeated success is never certain, but it certainly was a great start for what would end up being solid years for both teams.
The women’s team didn’t repeat the initial performance in the Conference Tournament, finishing 4th out of 9, but for the extremely young team, it was a very successful year of growth and competitiveness. Head coach Joseph Barr said, “I was very pleased with how the season progressed. We have an extremely young team. We were starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.”
The team consisted of only five athletes, which explains a lot of their early struggles and progression throughout the year. At the start of the spring season, they finished 9th out of 11 teams in the difficult Coastal Georgia Winter Invitational. From there, they continued to improve until Conference, where they finished in the top-half.
According to junior Sydney Moran, there was a lot of preparation involved. “Leading up to Conference it is all about fine-tuning our games and making sure we are confident going into the week,” she said. “We go out as a team and play against each other to qualify and create our line-up for Conference, but we all focus on different aspects of our game depending on what we need the most work on.”
This kind of preparation allows for the team to grow closer while also building individual skills. For such a young team, this kind of experience and playing time is invaluable for their future as student-athletes.
Moran will be the lone senior next year. The team is always focused on trying to win, but Moran’s leadership showed when she explained the ultimate goal. “One of the biggest things we focus on as a team is that we are successful,” she said. “We have had a successful day on the golf course if we were glorifying God through the good and the bad of the tournament.” This kind of attitude and focus is vital for creating a healthy competitive atmosphere on a sports team.
Next season, the women’s team will be making a massive leap in athletes. Six new members will be joining the team as freshmen, more than doubling the size of the team.
The men’s team had a very successful season leading up to Conference, recently finishing 2nd out of five in the Midway Eagle Invitational. There are 10 members on the men’s team. They also have strong senior leadership with three seniors, as well as youth with two freshmen and four sophomores. Barr discussed his confidence with the men’s team, saying, “I have been coaching the men’s team for significantly longer than the women’s team, so I have a little bit more history with them. I have a better feel for how their games are and what it takes to win the Men’s Conference.”
Coming off their recent success, the team had a shot at winning the Conference Tournament and going to Nationals. The team was very excited and confident in their abilities, and they worked hard to get to the level of success they were at by the end of the season.
Senior Jeffrey Reno explained the work that went into the season and the goals the team had in mind. “We work hard three hours a day and six [to] seven days a week. Our goal is to come out to each tournament and win every time. Winning conference is the overall goal first and foremost,” he said.
Both teams this year performed well and were two of the most successful teams in Asbury’s spring sports. Next season, Barr will enter his fifth year and have plenty of returnees and newcomers to keep success coming for the Eagles. The loss of seniors Matthew McCurry, Bryson Bennett and Reno will be difficult for the men’s team to overcome, but younger students on the roster are ready to step up and continue the success that was had this year. With the women’s team growing too, both teams should have solid seasons on the horizon.
