Since beginning its inaugural and final season with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the eight-member Butler women’s golf squad has proven capable of holding its own.

Coming off a sweep at the Bulldog Florida Invitational in Jacksonville last week, senior Julia Porter said she is thoroughly impressed with what she’s seen this year.

“The team does a great job of being intrinsically motivated,” Porter said. “I don’t often have to redirect them or ask them to focus. They know the goals for the season (winning the MAAC) and are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve them.”

While coach Bill Mattingly hasn’t been informed of the Big East move details, he is setting his sights on the MAAC Championships starting April 26 in Orlando.

“We are looking forward to competing in conference championship at the end of April,” he said. “Both Jenna Peters and Isabella Lambert are having excellent sophomore seasons, and senior Julia Porter has been an excellent senior leader on and off the course.”

After a breakout season in which she possesses the teams’ lowest scoring average, Lambert is confident in her team’s ability to face tougher competition in the Big East next year.

“I am excited for the new conference because even though I know it will be tougher and harder competition,” Lambert said, “it will in turn make us push ourselves to rise to the occasion. I expect that the competition next year will be tough, but I know my team and I will be pushing ourselves to get to the next level and compete.”

A tough second round sank the Butler women’s golf team in the Bulldog Florida Invitational, which was held in Jacksonville on March 14 and 15.

The Bulldogs led the event by four strokes at the end of the first round, and senior Michele Nash had a two-stroke advantage in the individual competition after shooting a one-over par 73 in the opening round.

Butler was overtaken by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on the second day, though, and the Greyhounds won by four strokes.

Nash shot an 82 in the second round, tying her for fourth place at the end of the event.

The Bulldogs were led by freshmen Jenna Peters and Isabella Lambert, whose total scores of 151 and 152 gave them second and third-place finishes, respectively.

IUPUI junior Jordan Essman won the tournament with a total score of 150.

On March 12 and 13, Butler took part in the Benbow Invitational in Jacksonville. Following a tough opening round, the Bulldogs posted the second-lowest team score in the second round to capture third place in the 14-team field.

In the first round, none of Butler’s golfers posted a score lower than a nine-above par 81. The second round saw a complete turnaround for the Bulldogs, as four of their five scoring golfers had scores of 79 or lower.

Nash led the charge, shooting a 73 in the second round to finish in fifth place. Peters and Lambert finished tied for 11th place and 15th place, respectively.

A three-team contest featuring Butler, Evansville and Cleveland State on March 10 was cancelled.

Like their male counterparts, the Bulldogs will head home to host the Butler Spring Invitational in Avon on March 26 and 27.

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.

In the Butler women’s golf team’s last tournament of the fall season, the Bulldogs took home a 10th place team finish at the Memphis Invitational.

The tournament, which ended Tuesday at the Ridgeway Country Club, featured 12 teams, including host Memphis, Boise State and Xavier.

Senior Michele Nash recorded Butler’s highest individual finish, tying for fifth place.

Nash took the course on Tuesday as the tournament leader after shooting a school record two-under-par 69 on Monday.

She shot an 80 in the second round and finished the tournament with a final-round score of 77.

Junior Julia Porter was Butler’s next highest finisher, tying for 45th. She bounced back from a first round 87 to shoot a 76 and a 79 in second and third rounds, respectively.

Freshman Isabella Lambert tied for 49th after posting a three-round total of 245.

Fellow freshman Jenna Peters tied for 52nd with a tournament score of 248, and senior Clare Cornelius rounded out Butler’s top five finishers with a total score of 256­— good enough for 67th overall.

Photo by Rachel Anderson

Memphis and Sanford each took home a share of the team title after tying with a score of 913 after 54 holes.

Playing on a familiar course, Marissa Steen of Memphis took home the individual title with scores of 71, 75 and 69. Kristen Tan of Xavier finished second.

The Bulldogs closed out a fall season that saw them win three of the five tournaments they participated in.

Butler opened the season by defeating nine other teams at the Green Bay Invitational.

The Bulldogs followed up that victory by coming out on top in a 13-team field in the Valparaiso Invitational.

The team’s third championship came in the self-hosted Butler Fall Invitational. Butler beat eight teams to take that title.

The Bulldogs pick up play again on Feb. 27 and 28 at the USA Women’s Invitational in Mobile, Ala.

The Butler women’s golf team bounced back from a tough first day to take sixth in The Preview at the Hawthorns Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.

Senior Michele Nash carried the team, finishing tied for fifth place out of nearly 100 players after shooting a two-over-par 74 in the first round. Her two-day score was 151.

“Michele played well again,” coach Bill Mattingly said. “She’s had a great fall thus far.”

For the Bulldogs, freshman Isabella Lambert tied for 18th place with a two-day score of 156.

Fellow freshman Jenna Peters tied for 29th with scores of 83 in the first round and 77 in the second for a total of 160.

Photo by Rachel Anderson

Junior Julia Porter was the fourth-best Bulldog with a two-day score of 164, good enough to tie her for 49th.

Senior Clare Cornelius rounded out the top five for Butler by tying for 61st with a two-day score of 167.

Sophomore Ali Restaino finished tied with Cornelius for 61st, and junior Alexandra Arends finished 82nd. Both were playing as non-scorers.

Toledo took home the team title by defeating Akron on the first playoff hole.

The Bulldogs had won three consecutive tournaments prior to The Preview. They opened the tournament with a team score of 318, tying them for eighth place.

They came back strong on the second day and carded a team score of 311, moving them into sixth place in the final standings.

“We have one more tournament this fall,” Mattingly said. “We can learn from mistakes this time and play better next time.”

The Bulldogs will be on the course next on Oct. 24 and 25 at the Memphis Invitational.