Last Tuesday, Carlos Lu '10 tied for third at the Simpson College Spring Invitational. The weekend before, Pete Kieselbach '10 shot a 149 over a two-day meet to finish in eighth. The Grinnell Men's Golf team has been practicing hard and stepping up their game to unexpected heights.
"We've been averaging around 70 as a team," said Lu, "which is way better than we're used to. We're playing better now than we did at conference last year."
But what has sparked the Pioneers to such a strong performance? " We've got two great captains in RJ [Roewe] and Joe Fox," said Lu. "Their leadership, along with Coach Jaws, and the first-years stepping up, it's all going to lead to a strong season."
Personally, RJ Roewe '08 attributes his improvement with getting older and the chance to play more collegiate level golf. "It's been a big progression. First year I was the seventh man, but then sophomore and junior year I'm one of the top three golfers on the team," said Roewe. "With that transition has come a lot of confidence; I'm playing the best golf I've ever played."
Two first years, specifically, are being looked at as key members of the team. "Alex [McDonald] and Jeff [Kljaich] will be looked at for the fifth and sixth man," said RJ Roewe '08.
Additionally, as Coach Jaworski is settling into his second year as golf coach, he's had more time and opportunities to get to know the players as individuals and as a team. "He's one guy that knows how to bring a bunch of random guys together as a unit," said Roewe. "We experience that on spring break at Tucson, when we play intramural basketball, and at practice every day."
Lu agrees that in his second year, Coach Jaws has done a good job of stepping into the position of golf coach. "He's definitely a lot more comfortable coaching us," said Lu. "Though he may not be able to beat us on the course, he's a great leader," added Roewe.
In the coming weeks, Jaworski's leadership will be essential to the Pioneers as they face many difficult matches. "The next couple of weeks, the tournaments we're playing in are with much better competition, much tougher golfers than we're used to," said Lu. "If we can step up and compete with them, we should have no trouble when conference comes around."
The men's golf team plays next at the Wartburg Invitational in Waverly, IA April 12-13.
