Both men’s and women’s golf teams found incredible success in both their Firestone Fall Invite and the Embry Riddle Co-Ed Invite. The women’s team claimed first place in their first tournament while the men’s team has stayed in the top three through the first half of the season. Their success is fueled by players such as freshman Mychaela Graf.

TAKING FIRST PLACE

Women’s golf started off the season strong by taking first place in the Firestorm Fall Invite. They topped the hosting Arizona Christian University and ended up with a total of 644 strokes and 68 over par. Their next tournament took the team to the desert to compete in a tournament put on by Embry-Riddle University. Although they finished in fourth place with 967 strokes and 103 over par, one player made her mark on the 2015 season.

In her first year on the team Graf has shown her teammates she has what it takes to lead her team to a successful season. In the first two tournaments, Graf earned herself first place among all the individual golfers. In her first tournament at ACU she ended with a total of 152 strokes, eight over par. She experienced some déjà vu after taking home first place again in the Embry-Riddle Co-Ed Invite finishing 13 over par.

A PROMISING FUTURE

Although the men’s team consists mostly of freshman and sophomores, they have already shown they are a very promising up-and-coming team. At the Firestorm Fall Invitational the men’s team earned second place with 903 strokes, 39 over par. Not only that, but freshman Austin Bishop and senior William Langworthy both found themselves in the top five for individuals. In the second round Bishop had the lowest score with 69 strokes and finished in third place with 219 strokes and three over par. Langworthy followed close behind him and tied for fourth with 220 strokes, four over par.

By the end of their two days in the desert for the Embry Riddle Co-Ed Invite the men’s team earned themselves third place with 881 strokes and 17 over par. After shooting 215 and landing one under par, Langworthy once again tied for third in the individuals. Also in the top five, freshman Kyle McAbee finished up even and earned fifth place overall.

A UNIQUE BOND

“It’s a team sport but it’s also an individual sport and we’re not always communicating but when we see each other out on the course we interact with each other,” McAbee said.

According to the players, the men’s team has formed a very close and unique bond on and off the course. That bond creates a friendly, competitive attitude among the teammates that pushes them to do the best they can in each tournament.

“Our coach comes and tells us how the other players are doing because we can’t directly talk to them all the time,” Bishop said. “Last tournament I started off bad but when my coach came and told me how Kyle was doing a lot better it pushed me to play aggressive and get a lower score to match his.”

Both the men and women’s teams prepare for the short trip to CSU San Marcos to participate in the CSUSM Fall Invite from Oct. 26-27.