With their spring seasons under way, the Colonel and Lady Colonel golf teams hope for continued improvement from their fall seasons.In their first action this spring, the Colonel golf team had two top 10 finishers in senior Steve Luminais and freshman Leslie Bonvillain, as each shot a 74 to finish, tying for 10th place at the Pizza Hut/Bell South Invitational played at Dancing Rabbit Golf Course in Philadelphia, Miss.
Sophomore Nat Bhanmatuchinda, sophomore Donny Schmitt and freshmen James Terrebonne and Brent Herman also competed in the event.
Bhanmatuchinda shot a 78, which put him in a tie for 37th place, while Schmitt fired a 79, tying him for 44th place. Terrebonne finished with an 83 as an individualist, tying him for 64th, while Herman rounded out the Colonels in a tie for 75th place with an 86.
During the fall season, Schilling said the women made great strides, which he says has been the trend for the last couple of years the team has existed.
The men started out on a positive note, winning their first tournament, but they were not as successful as the season progressed, according to Schilling. Despite that fact, he said there is plenty of golf still to be played.
“Golf is the only sport that competes both semesters-fall and spring-so you can’t really get that into or worked up about how a team does,” Schilling said. “You just have to basically pace yourself for the entire year.”
Entering this season, Schilling implemented a new practice routine to help the team. He said he thought the men were spending more time on competing rather than working on skill. This semester, the men are going through different drills to help improve the overall game.
Schilling altered some aspects of the women’s game, but not much because of the success they had last semester.
Bhanmatuchinda said he could see improvement since the new practice routine has been implemented.
“I think it’s going to work,” Bhanmatuchinda said. “It’s been working for us. Everybody seems to be getting better and progressing.”
As far as who stands out thus far on the men’s side, Schilling said Bhanmatuchinda has really made great strides.
“He’s gone from playing the number four or five position a year ago, to basically number one or two right now,” Schilling said. “He’s really dedicated himself and really works hard, so he stands out to me as an individual who I think could really do some good things this semester.”
Schilling said a lot of the female golfers are from Canada, so they are unable to practice when they go home for winter break because the courses are closed. Because of this lack of practice time, he said there has not been enough time for any female golfers to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
Senior Shawna Fraser believes winning the last tournament of the fall season boosted the confidence of the team heading into the spring season.
“I think we’re all really excited, and we’re looking forward to this season because we won the tournament,” Fraser said. “It was our last tournament last semester, so we’re all going in with a really good feeling that we’re going to play well and finish and have a really good semester.”
In terms of what he is looking for from his teams this season, Schilling said he just wants them to continue to work hard.
“It’s a lot of travel, it’s a lot of missed class for the players, so they have to really be dedicated both in the classroom and out,” Schilling said. “I just want them to keep working hard.”
As far as Southland Conference play, Schilling believes that the men still have some improving to do to catch up with the rest of the conference, while the women are in the thick of things.
“It’s just kind of a toss up on the women’s side,” Schilling said. “It just kind of gets down to who’s playing good that week. On the men’s side we’re going to have to continue to improve to play against tough competition.”
The Lady Colonels will return to action when they travel to Mobile, Ala., to participate in the Lady Jaguar Invitational at Azalea City Golf Course on March 7-8. The Colonels resume play when they travel to the Bearkat Classic on March 11-12 at Raven’s Nest Golf Club in Huntsville, Texas.
