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Show rn I HE rORUM " Page6 September 17, 2002 Golfers Make Run in First Tournament worst round as a team while Rocky Mountain Staff Writer played almost as well as anybody could to jump The Westminster mens over the Griffins and take and womens golf team fourth place. When asked finished their first tournament of the year in Butte, about the disappointing finish to an otherwise sucMont, on Tuesday. Both cessful weekend, Coach teams completed the d tournament in Daron Park said, We have to finish what we start. We fifth place among Frontier definitely felt we had a Conference squads. chance to hold onto fourth The men had high or even make a run at expectations as they third place. Hopefully, we entered the year with can learn from this and be more experience and talent than any other year in able to compete for an entire three- - round tournatheir three-yea- r history. Going into the final round ment next weekend. Eric Hurd had an oh Tuesday, the men held an eleven stroke lead over encouraging debut at the collegiate level. He was Rocky Mountain College. the only player on the But the men had their Jason Long three-roun- . mens side to improve his score each round. Coach Park was pleased with Erics ability to learn. Eric definitely has the potential to score even lower, Park said. However, I was pleased that he got better with the experience. On the other side of the spectrum, the women came in not knowing what to expect with three of their four golfers never having taken a stroke at this level. The girls did exactly what I expected Coach Daron Park (left) and sophomore Jesse Lind talk strategy at a them to do. They gained recent practice. Along with freshman Eric Hurd and sophomore Eric invaluable experience? Hurd, Lind leads a strong men s golf squad. Now, we should see some to play well next weeklower scores as we Up Nexttit end, said Miranda, a junprogress throughout the ior from Las Vegas. The golf teams will travel to year," Park said. will Miranda be helped The women finished fifth Billings, Mont, to play in their of her two years by experifinal tournament of the Fall without a real chance or ence at Green Meadow tournament at Rocky Mountain expecting anything higher. Club in Helena, Country Individually, senior Rachel College on Monday and and men the where Mont., Miranda placed fourth Tuesday. secstarted their women overall in a field that ond tournament on included over forty Monday. women. After struggling With five more tournawith putting on her way to ments left in their season, d a 86, Miranda Park remains optimistic. rebounded to shootj an 83 We have enough time to in the second round and a improve on our start as 77 in the final round to long as everyone can settle finish strong. I had a down and play to their shaky start with my putcapabilities. There is no ting, but overall I was reason we cant reach our happy with the way I goal of finishing in the top played this week. four in the conference. Hopefully, I can continue rrr 'T - 1 first-roun- only one tournament remaining on the fall season, freshman Ava Crump hopes to improve her short game before the critical spring With season starts in April. Lady Griffins Ready for Regular Season Matt McMullen Contributing Writer Matthew Gaschk Forum FHitnr After a four-gam- e stint in Montana this past weekend, the Lady Griffins return with two wins, and two losses, equaling their season win total in one successful weekend against three Frontier Conference opponents and one non-conferen- ce foe. Freshman Maxi Miller led the team with 12 kills on Friday against Victoria. off Typically a role-play- er the bench, Miller stepped into the starting lineup and the Lady Griffins didnt miss a beat. Starting setter Brittany Enniss led the team with 18 assists while freshman Candice Lang added 12, as the Lady Griffins took the match in five games. Senior Liz Thompson added 11 kills in the win. In the second match against University of Great Falls, senior Sasha Smith led the team with 12 kills, while Thompson added 11. Our intensity was higher than it has been all season. That helped push us through on the first day, Smith said. Enniss must have had ESP, as she picked up 29 assists against Great Falls, apparently knowing where everyone was at all times. Brittany has really stepped up for us. To have a sophomore step in and take on a leadership role is very important for us. Its also important to have a setter that is con sistent and can keep us in the game. She has been leading our team to a different level lately, Smith said. The Griffins only need- Brittany Enniss Sophomore Setter Sandy, UT Political Studies Major Philosophy Major ed four games to drop Great Falls. On Saturday, the tables turned and Westminster lost in four close games against both Montana Tech and Montana State University-Norther- n. Lacking the emotion from the draining first day of the tournament, the Lady Griffins could not escape the funk they were in. Its been hard for us to bounce back on the second day of the tournaments. Physically, weve been fine, but our mental intensity hasnt been there. We just get emotionally drained, Smith said. 12 With a 4-- 14 preseason the schedule, optimism of the volleyball team might be surprising. But the cohesiveness of the Lady Griffins has been improving of late. Our practices have been more intense the past few weeks, said Smith. If we all come together and peak at the same time, things will look pretty good. Up Next : , . ! - ; Westminster opens their Frontier Conference regular season schedule with two home games this weekend. The Lady Griffins open with a match against Rocky Mountain College on Friday. Saturday, Westminster takes on Carroll College, ranked Ho. 21 In the NAIA national poll. Both matches start at 7 pm in Payne Gymnasium. : ; J |