Faith Choi watching her putt at the Illini Women’s Invitational Oct. 9-10. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Ohio State women’s golf team finished the fall season ranked 35th in the country.
The season started with a disappointing finish of 10th place out of 16 teams at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, where the Buckeyes aimed to defend last year’s championship title.
The Buckeyes then came back and secured third place out of 15 teams at the Mary Fossum Invitational. They closed their season with an 8th-place finish out of 15 teams at the Illini Women’s Invitational.
“I feel like everything we did, whether it was good or bad, not that we did much bad, made us realize what we have to work on for the offseason so everyone is focused and we know what we need to do to get better from here, so I feel like I wouldn’t change anything,” redshirt senior Caley McGinty said.
Although last year’s fall season produced better scores, the Buckeyes feel great about this season, McGinty said.
“Last year, I think that we, score-wise and maybe rankings-wise, performed better, but I feel like this season we feel like we’ve got a lot more left in the tank going into the spring,” McGinty said. “I feel like we have a lot more momentum going into next semester compared to last year.
The Buckeyes started last season strong with a win at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, whereas this year, they placed 10th.
“Last year, we started it out so strong it was more of an, ‘Oh, how can we maintain that, whereas I feel like this year we didn’t have that season start like we did last year, but I think we all know deep down that there is a lot of room for improvement and that’s gotta be so exciting for each and every individual,” junior Faith Choi said.
Off the course, the team has had a great relationship this season, Choi and McGinty said.
“I’d say team morale is great. I think, well, obviously, this is my fifth year in college and this is probably the closest team I’ve ever been on,” McGinty said. “Everyone is just excited about the direction the team is headed in, and we are all just getting a lot closer as the weeks go on.”
The Buckeyes have learned from this fall season, McGinty said.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot from this fall season more than any fall season I’ve had before,” McGinty said. “Stuff about the game, stuff about myself that I can take forward and just really work on. Sometimes the best thing for you is to just to learn something from the events to make the spring even better.”
The Buckeyes are now in offseason preparation for spring season tournaments.
“I think we had a really great season on and off the golf course. I think the whole team has pushed each other really well and I think we are definitely trending in the right direction,” Choi said. “It’s only up from here, so it’s exciting to see the future.”
