During the past two years, the Trinity Lutheran girls golf team has failed to earn a victory on the links.
However, things have changed.
In just their second dual meet of the season, the Cougars ended that drought Friday.
Playing with three scorers, the Cougars came away with a 172-178 victory at Shadowood against visiting Southwestern (Hanover).
“This is our first win in two years, and it’s huge,” Cougars coach Greg Personett said. “It’s a morale booster, and I think it’s huge for our team. It only makes everyone better. When one of our players is playing well, another is also. It is kind of a chain reaction. It feels good moving forward.”
Cougars junior Macy Taylor led the way by carding a 55.
Demi Oakes, a junior, came in next for the Cougars with a 56, and sophomore Morgan Gabbard posted a 61.
Senior Jessica Fleener finished with a 63 to round out the Cougars’ scores.
The Rebels’ Carol Osborne was medalist, shooting a 53.
One of the biggest improvements Personett has seen from his team this year is their driving and fairway management.
“The ladies are striking the ball, tee to green, very well,” Personett said. “All four of them across the board. We’re suffering a little bit with our putting and chipping, so we will work on that. If we eliminate that, our scores will adjust dramatically.
“Last year, we had trouble going tee to green. Now, we’re getting the ball more airborne and putting shots together. It makes it so much easier to play and it’s making a difference.”
Due to low numbers on the Rebels’ side, the teams decided to score three girls on the day.
Personett said he’s been in that situation in the past and will play three girls if a visiting team is short on players instead of the normal four.
“We had a good win; I’m happy,” Personett said. “We only counted three because they only had three girls come to play. We like to play that way because we’ve been kind of ‘dumped on’ by other teams when we’ve brought three golfers before.”
With the victory, the Cougars now stand at 1-1 in dual-match play.
They will face Salem and Clarksville on Tuesday at Salem Golf Club in a tri-meet.