The men’s golf team placed 10th of 16 teams at the two-day Indiana Invitational, which concluded Sunday.

Junior Andrew Wegeng led the team, shooting a 2-over-par 215 to finish tied for 12^th place.

“I think we were too inconsistent,” Wegeng said. “We had some good scores, but we were not able to put three or four good scores together in any of the rounds.”

Wegeng had the lowest score for the Bulldogs on both days of play, ending the first day with a 2-under-par 69.

Wegeng’s performance was not enough to move Butler up the standings, however, as the team ended the first day being in 11^th place.

“It is tough to say exactly where we needed improvement, but overall I think we struggled mainly on the greens,” Wegeng said. “We did not putt nearly well enough to contend.”

The team’s showing at Indiana was a stark contrast to its first place finish in the Big Four tournament at Crooked Stick April 5.

In that event, the Bulldogs swept the top three individual positions, with Wegeng and senior Alex Walker tying for first place overall with a 3-over-par 75. Freshman Andrew Eiler captured third place with a 7-over-par 79.

“I was proud of how I hung in there and shot 75 on a day where I was not hitting it very well,” Wegeng said. “Hitting only two fairways and seven greens in regulation at a difficult course like Crooked Stick usually results in a bad score, but I was able to turn it into a respectable score.”

The Butler women’s golf team also won at Crooked Stick.

Senior Michele Nash finished the tournament in first place, shooting a 1-under-par 71.

“It was nice to shoot under par,” Nash said. “I worked a lot on my putting during the week leading up to the tournament, and it definitely paid off.”

Senior Clare Cornelius, who finished tied for seventh place, said she was pleased with the team’s performance and is looking forward to its next tournament.

“I think we are definitely playing on a level to be successful,” Cornelius said. “We are all competitive players and have a lot of talent on this team. I am very excited and proud of this team for what we have accomplished thus far, and I believe we can continue that success for the rest of the season.”

The men’s team will compete next in the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational on April 21 in Muncie.

The women will head to Indiana Saturday for the Indiana Invitational.

It is that time of the year again.

No, not the wildly popular basketball spectacle that is March Madness. Rather, now is the return of a sport after a long hiatus—golf.

The golf season is split into two separate sections—one for the fall semester and one for the spring. But in between those seasons is a long break.

During that break—since the sport is technically not considered in-season—the athletes are limited to eight hours of organized practice per week. That includes activities such as working out and hitting the driving range.

It is officially time for the Butler men’s and women’s golf teams to start playing again, though.

The squads have a variety of goals and expectations as their spring season gets underway.

MEN’S TEAM

The Butler men’s golf team is looking to rebound in the upcoming spring season after a disappointing finish to the fall season.

Collegian file photo

While the team won its first tournament of the season at Green Bay and finished second in the Butler Fall Invitational, the Bulldogs placed ninth, 12th and 13th in their other three fall events.

According to coach Bill Mattingly, it all starts with trying to improve as a team.

“The conference is wide open this year,” Mattingly said. “With the guys we have, there is a good chance we could win.”

Players said they feel they have what it takes to make the ascension to champions of the Horizon League.

Junior Matt Vitale said that unity has been important for Butler.

“I think the biggest thing that it comes down to is that we all like each other and everyone enjoys the game of golf,” Vitale said.

Vitale was a walk-on to the team last year. Initially, he said he felt like he had to prove himself to show he belonged, but he does not feel the same way now.

The feeling of togetherness within the team does not stop there, though.

“The juniors and seniors have been really welcoming,” freshman Andrew Eiler said. “They have been a lot of help in transitioning from high school to college golf.”

Mattingly said Eiler is the youngest major contributor to the team.

“He came in, won his spot on the team and never gave it away,” Mattingly said.

Players say they revel in the chance to have workouts with their teammates—even if they come at 6 a.m.—as it is another opportunity to be pushed to work that much harder.

Senior Alex Walker has been on the team long enough to know the ins and outs of not only the sport but the balance of college life as well.

Walker said the preparation involved to get physically and mentally ready for the spring season should constantly be stressed, and he hopes to help players learn how to get better in order to win the conference tournament.

The Bulldogs open their spring season in Florida against Evansville and Cleveland State on March 10.

After that, the team has seven events between March 10 and April 29. Six of these are multi-day contests, three of which will take place in Florida.

WOMEN’S TEAM

The women had a successful fall season, winning three out of five invitationals.

Mattingly said he knows the transition from one season to the next can be difficult at first.

“The first few tournaments will be rough,” Mattingly said.

Players said they know this as well.

The time off is one major disadvantage of playing golf in the northern half of the country.

Collegian file photo

Thanks to weather, teams in the North are not able to practice and play on courses during their own free time like the teams in the South are.

This creates a huge disadvantage for teams like Butler, but shaking off the rust is essential if the Bulldogs plan to build on their success in the fall season.

“It’s definitely going to be difficult since [the USA Women’s Invitational] is our first tournament in a few months,” senior Michele Nash said. “Mentally, you have to prepare yourself for the spring season and expect to shoot your best scores.”

Nash is coming off a fall season in which she recorded two first-place finishes, a runner-up showing and two fifth-place finishes.

In addition to the strong play from Nash, two freshmen also contributed to the success the team had in the fall.

Both Isabella Lambert and Jenna Peters had a top-three finish at one tournament in the fall.

Mattingly heaped praises upon them and said he expects them to be “stronger, smarter and a little more poised” after having one semester of experience under their belts.

According to Peters, the Bulldogs are not merely looking to improve, though.

“I would really like to go to the NCAA tournament,” Peters said.

Mattingly said he believes an NCAA tournament appearance is possible and has gotten the players to buy into it, too.

Butler was tabbed to win the Horizon League in a preseason poll by Golfweek magazine, and the Bulldogs said they fully plan to come out firing with a strong showing in Mobile, Ala.

That is where the USA Women’s Invitational was held yesterday and today.

Nash finished in a three-way tie for fifth place at the event, leading the Bulldogs to a runner-up showing.

Lambert had the second-best showing of all Butler players, finishing in eighth.

Butler finished two strokes behind host South Alabama in the 13-team event.

The women will now compete in the same seven events as their male counterparts between March 10 and April 29.

The Butler women’s golf team finished fifth at the Chris Bannister Golf Classic over the holiday weekend in Glencoe, Ala.

The three-day event, which began Sunday, was played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Silver Lakes.

The Bulldogs got off to a slow start Sunday, but Mattingly said his team seemed to play more comfortably on Monday.

“All six players were here last year, so they really had no excuse,” Mattingly said. “I think it was mostly just first-round jitters.”

Junior Michele Nash finished 10th, posting a 73 Monday. She was just one stroke shy of the day’s low round. Nash followed up her strong effort with a 77 Tuesday, finishing the tournament with a 232.

Three other Bulldogs, junior Clare Cornelius, senior Molly Fields and  sophomore Julia Porter, joined Nash in the top 25.

Porter (238) tied for 19th, Fields (239) tied for 21st and Cornelius (240) finished 23rd.

“My attitude was better the second day,” Porter said. “I recovered from bogeys better than I did on Sunday.”

Sophomore Ali Arends (244) and senior Marcy Moreman (256) also contributed to the Butler team total.

Butler will be back in action Sept. 20 when they travel to Hammond, Ind., for the Chicago State Invitational.