By Jamie Macpherson

As September ends and the weather cools down, Macalester’s Golf team looks to wrap things up. It’s been an up and down season for the Mac Golfers, according to Head Coach Martha Nause. Both teams have placed well in some, and finished in the lower half in other tournaments. Nause attributes this partially to the intensity of the season; the men have played in five tournaments within the past month and the women four. “The MIAC is one of the toughest leagues in the country,” Nause said. “You have to play well in order to do well in our conference.”

Mostly this is because of teams like St. John’s and Gustavus Adolphus, who have been national champions within the last few years. Usually, St. John’s and Gustavus gain the top two spots, and then it’s a battle between the rest of the participating colleges for the remaining slots.

This is why Nause’s primary goal this semester was to give her golfers experience playing in tournament settings, particularly the men who have a very young team. Four out of the seven men’s golfers are first-years, with a lack of experience in the MIAC.

The women have also been playing a very intense season. Nause is satisfied with their performance, despite the relatively small, inexperienced team (the women only have five players). The women, who were recently ranked 23rd in the Division III national poll, hope to finish at least third in the Conference Championships; Nause said they would be disappointed if they do not. With hopeful national qualifiers Karla Leon ’10 and Jordan Matheson, ’09, that should not be a problem.

Nause is also optimistic about the men’s Conference Championships. This year the five playing in the Conference Championships are Jonathon Khil ’11, Nick Santrach ’11, Daniel Kerwin ’10, Ryan Peters ’10 and Matt Arck ’08.

“I think we’ll play well,” Nause said. “If we play to our potential, I think we should have a strong showing.