Wednesday - Thursday at NCAAs

Wednesday: Today we had tee times starting at 12:30. These were easily the hottest tee times a team could ask for. The course proved rough along with the heat. We didn't play as well as we had hoped but are confident that tomorrow will be better. We fell back quite a few places to 15th. After tournament play, there was an awards banquet. This is a NGCA banquet in which awards accomplishments are given in the golf field. Four out of five players made the All-American Scholar team while our very own Ellen Rickert made the the all-region team. It was a pleasant surprise for all of us, and also, a well deserved one.

THursday: We started off with a fairly early tee time at 8:50. This is much more favorable as far as the heat index. We played with Otterbein and Whitworth Colleges. Overall, this was a much improved day performance-wise for us as a team. We managed to climb our way up two positions to 13th place. After play, we settled down with a little Phase 10. An excellent card game if anyone is looking. We went out for dinner at a place called Gator's Dockside with our families. It's always a great time to get all the families together. It's a great way to hang out as a team but also spend time with our number one fans as well. We tee off in the morning again tomorrow. We hope for an even more successful day to push us up a few spots in the rankings.

Day three in sunny Florida - Rebecca Lewis

May 11 - Today was day three of our trip to Sunny Florida. It marked our first day of actual competition. Our round started at 8 a.m. We ended with a score of 346. Jordan led the way shooting a low score of 78. After today we are sitting in 8th place but there is still a lot of golf to be played. After play we hit the practice facilities to work out a few more kinks. This evening we took a small trip outside of our resort to spend an evening with our families at a local seafood and burger restaurant. We had a couple more alligator sightings but none have been very large. The weather still remains very warm but we are looking forward to another sunny day tomorrow.

Day two in Florida

Day 2 at Mission Inn was another full day of sun and practice. We played our official 18-hole practice round today and continued to familiarize ourselves with the course. The practice round was a great opportunity to hit lots of different shots and gain confidence about the awaiting competition. Overall, the round went well and the team is looking forward to the start of the tournament tomorrow. The highlight of the day, for some, may have been the first official "gator sighting". The creatures are known to be around the course so we will be sure to use caution in the future. The weather continues to be quite warm so we are working to "win the hydration battle", as coach would suggest. Tonight, we had supper at the NCAA Banquet. This banquet offered an introduction to all of the participating teams and individuals and served to kick off the event. Overall, today was a great experience and will be useful to propel us into the start of the competition tomorrow.

Arriving in Florida - by Kelsi Sawatzky - freshman from Ankeny, Iowa

We arrived at Mission Inn Resort Saturday with the sun shining brightly. We started off the day with some practice at the driving range and putting green. We then got out of the sun for awhile to enjoy some lunch and check into our rooms at the resort hotel. The hotel is quite nice and the air conditioning is even better! The main event on the day's agenda was a walk through of the course. The course is beautiful and looks as though it can be both challenging and rewarding. The only disappointment (or relief) was that there were no gator sightings on the course. After our walk-through, we were just about sunned out but managed to spend a little time at the pool. We then enjoyed a fabulous buffet dinner at the resort. Once our stomachs were satisfied, we made our way back to our rooms to rest and prepare for our practice round tomorrow and focus on some school work. We are looking forward to another beautiful day on the course!