POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State golf team is grateful to be back on the course. Last March, the teams spring season was cut short due to COVID and it was not able to compete again until March 8 at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Boulder City, Nevada.
While the first tournament in a year showed some rust, the Bengals made great strides at the Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah.
In the opening tournament the Bengals finished the three-round invitational with a 1003 team score.
Following the two rounds in St. George, the Bengals shot a 627 in the first two rounds of play, good for the second-best score in program history in 36 holes of play. The final round was canceled due to bad weather.
"We definitely showed rust at Boulder Creek," Idaho State coach
Dallen Atkins said. "Our short game and putting were not dialed in to where they normally are midseason. That's the hard part about dealing with winter, conditions here in Pocatello, and having to practice indoors. To add to all of that...we dealt with some brutal wind. Every team in the field had relatively high scores from their normal."
The Bengals didn't let the first tournament get them down. They were ready for St. George and it showed.
Tyler Erickson led the charge with a 76 in round 1 and 77 in round 2 for a 153 while freshman
Lindsey Lloyd shot a 153 as well (77-76).
"Tyler and Lindsey finished in the top 20 in a field of almost 90 players and Tya wasn't that far behind," Atkins said. "I think we cleanup the small little miscues in the round and these girls are going to be going head to head with the top players in these tournaments. They have all of the talent in the world, it's just finding a way to limit the small mistakes and be able to move forward."
Atkins added, "627 is historically a great score for our program. But you ask any of those girls and they will all tell you that they left a lot of opportunities out there! That's what is exciting about these girls and this team and their future."
Tya Seth finished the tournament with a 155 (77-78) while
Dimery Plewe shot a 175 and
Ainsley Snyder a 177.
"Even though we were down and frustrated from Boulder, we made a game plan and had a really good practice round for SUU's event," Atkins said. "We focused on our weak areas and made it a point to play smarter. We went from wind at Boulder to cold, rain/snow in St. George. I was really proud of these girls for their ability to move on from their mistakes in Boulder and prove they could compete, no matter what the conditions are outside."
Despite the tournament in St. George getting cut short, the Bengals are confident that they can keep turning the corner and making steady improvements.
"It's been four years in the making, minus the year we lost because of COVID," Atkins said. "But we have a young team that is starting to make a move up the ranks in the Big Sky. Out of the five Big Sky teams in the field, we finished in the middle. And the two in front of us were easily in our sights to catch."
Idaho State hosts Weber State in a dual match on April 5 at Juniper Hills. The Bengals then play at the Bobcat Desert Classic in Goodyear, Ariz., April 11-13. The Big Sky Championships are April 18-21.
"Big things are coming for ISU women's golf this season," Atkins said. "We are going to be able to get on a golf course this week and we are going to make the most of it. We know what we are all working on and what we need to be doing to be ready for our remaining events including our Big Sky Championship."
