The spring season kicked off for the Lawrence golf team as they traveled to Green Lake, Wisc. to compete in the Ripon Invitational April 14-15. The Vikings put together a team score of 763 which earned them 15th place in the 16-team field.
Freshman Anton Olsson performed the best for Lawrence, individually finishing in a tie for 30th place. He produced rounds of 84 and 81 for a total of 165 in 36 holes. Sophomores William Thoren and Derek Brickan, junior Tyler Clark and senior Zach Joseph competed for the Vikings in addition to Olsson.
After the first outing for the spring, Thoren viewed it as a good opportunity for Lawrence. “The first day we played the Woodland course, which was tough. The course was in great shape. However, we could not get it together. On Sunday, we played the Link course, which was a little easier and all the guys improved their scores. Overall, not a great weekend, but we had fun and learned a lot.”
Thoren also saw where the Vikings can make improvements going into the next competition. “We could improve on every aspect, but for now I believe we need to work on our consistency. At the moment, we only have one guy who always plays well and that is Anton Olsson. The rest of the team needs to be more consistent. Then I see a bright future for our program.”
The next invitational for the team is April 22, when the team will travel to Carroll University for the Carroll Invitational. Other than the competition, Thoren notes another factor that adds excitement to this tournament: “Paul Zuke is making his college debut this Sunday, and I believe he will do great!”