Becky Martin: Battling the Elements at Michigan
Early Friday morning the team arrived in the parking lot to pack the van and leave for the practice round at the University of Michigan. It was definitely one of the most challenging packing experiences I've seen because of all the gear we needed for all seven of us. Thankfully, Kate Hoops was there to save the day; I would consider her as a master packer of sorts. We all loaded into the van for the short trip into Michigan, where we all studied, did homework and sang to our favorite songs on our multiple CDs that we've created this year.
Once we arrived at the Michigan practice facility, we toured the building to check it out, hit balls and then reloaded the van. The practice round went well and we were able to get in a lot of shots, along with enjoying the nice weather. After some post-round practice, we decided to go for dinner at Applebee's.
Applebee's was so good and we all had a lot of fun. There were a couple of mishaps that ended up in Kate getting free desert. Since it is Alli Schultz's birthday on Monday, September 24th, we all had dessert to celebrate. After that we left to go to the hotel, where we were surprised by the amount it was raining outside. We rested and finished the day with some studying in preparation for the 36 holes tomorrow.
Saturday morning we all warmed up at the practice facility, went to the golf course and started our rounds. It was a little cold outside, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. Later into the first round, the rain started coming down hard along with more wind. The rain was off and on through the whole day which made the golf course play a lot harder than expected. The scores just kept coming in considerably higher, which made everyone fight for every shot that much more. All in all, we finished the first day of the tournament in sixth place. Michigan hosted a dinner after the round, before a couple of teams went to go tour the Michigan football stadium.
The tour was exciting as we were able to tour the locker room and go play around on the field. The site was incredible and we had a lot of fun taking pictures and various videos. We went back to the hotel to rest for the next day.
Sunday morning the skies were clear, which made the sunrise at the range really entertaining. The weather was drastically different then Saturday which was nice for the last day of the tournament. With four holes to go, there was a flash rainstorm and hailstorm which lasted about 2 holes. Luckily we were all prepared with our rain gloves and the rest of our equipment. After the tournament ended, we stuck around for some pizza and to thank the host for a wonderful tournament.
In the end we finished with a sixth-place finish by ourselves, Alli Schultz finished tied for sixth overall individually, and two of our freshmen were able to experience their first college golf tournament. We didn't do as well as we would have liked to, but it just makes us work harder. The MAC Preview is coming up on October 15th, which gives us some time to prepare. Big thanks to the Hoops', Schultz's, Elsholz's and Dixon's for coming out to cheer us on. I would also like to wish Alli a Happy 21st Birthday. Go Rockets!
