University Star

The Texas State women’s golf team headed to Michigan State on Sept. 15 for the Mary Fossum Invitational, where senior Krista Puisite managed to clench the individual first place slot and earned another title.

There were 17 teams and 92 players total. Texas State placed fourth as a team, losing by 21 strokes in the Chris Banister Golf Classic a few weeks ago. Coach Mike Akers said he suspects the Bobcats need to focus on consistency and trying to improve with each round.

“Consistency was definitely an issue,” Akers said. “And the quality of the teams that were there versus at the Chris Banister was much different.”

The Bobcats had a hard time getting to the tournament. It took the team 25 hours to get to the invitational because of flight issues, leaving some players fatigued and disrupting the team’s practice time. The first two days’ rounds were the team’s weakest, but the Bobcats managed to pull together in the final day’s round.

“The last day was our best round,” Akers said. “Only one team beat us that day, and it was by only one shot I believe.”

Not only was the competition tougher at the invitational, but the course itself was  narrow and more punishing than usual. Getting off track was costly.

“It was a very difficult course, but it was a really good course for us too,” Puisite said. “If you slipped up a little bit it made the course much harder.”

Puisite seemed to have been on top of her game and maintained consistency through the three rounds. She scored 71 for the first two rounds, and 73 on the final. The team, however, had a harder time maintaining its stronger scores throughout each round.

“You just have to hit well and make sure you are putting good, and you’ll be more consistent,” Puisite said. “The bigger misses will give you a hard time later on, so you have to make sure to hit your best each time.”

The team has a month off before heading to Oklahoma for another tournament. The Bobcats should be more prepared, considering they only had four days to prep for their first tournament.

“I think we will be able to rebound,” Akers said. “We have a whole month to prepare for Oklahoma. We’ll definitely have a much better chance to settle in and get a structured practice.”

Ultimately, the team needed to experience Forest Akers West Course to improve. The course’s terrain is more difficult and it will not be the first time the team runs into a similarly challenging course.

“The whole reason I scheduled that event was to get experience up there,” Akers said. “So, now we will just make sure to work hard next month and recharge.”

Follow Eddie Baty on Twitter: @EddieBatyIII