SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s golf teams begin their fall seasons this weekend at the Augsburg Invitational and Saint Benedict Invitational, respectively. The Gustie men are coming off a season that saw them place second in the MIAC and make an appearance at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2013, while the women also took second place in the conference.
The Gustie women will see some new faces in the lineup after the graduation of All-Conference performers Erin Ericson, Emily Kratz, and Sydney Regalado. Seniors Laurel Ward (Bozeman, Mont.), Kristin Martens (Sartell), and Hannah Hubbart (Hastings) will start the season Nos. 1, 3, and 5 in the lineup, respectively. Ward returns the most experience after posting an 81.1 average in 19.5 rounds last season. She had one top-five finish and two top-10 finishes. Martens posted an 87.4 average in 10 rounds last season, while Hubbart played in 12 rounds with an 85.6 average.
“I’m excited for Kristin and Hannah to have the opportunity to play in our top lineup,” Head Coach Scott Moe said. “Our seniors have had a great preseason.”
Rounding out the top five at Nos. 2 and 4 are Annika Reierson (Jr., Delano) and Emily Kolb (Fy., Sioux Falls, S.D.). Reierson played in 19.5 rounds last season with an 83.1 average and one top-10 finish.
“Emily will jump into the lineup right away as a first-year and we’re looking forward to what she can bring to the team,” Moe said.
The Division III WGCA Coaches Poll released today has the Gustie women tied for No. 22 in the country.
The Gustie men lost All-Americans Jacob Pedersen and Max Ullan to graduation and will also see some new faces in the top lineup. Wyatt Wasko (Sr., Lake Elmo), who will start the season at No. 1, brings back to most experience after earning All-Region honors last season with a 74.4 average in 20.5 rounds.
Sam Skaar (Sr., Coleraine) will play No. 2 after averaging 76.1 in 14 rounds last year. Moving up from the second team to the No. 3 spot is Jack Holtan (Sr., Rochester), who average 79.7 in 12 rounds. The No. 4 spot will be filled by newcomer Christopher Gutuza (Fy., Johannesburg, South Africa) and rounding out the lineup at No. 5 is Ben Forsberg (Jr., Shafer), who averaged 77.9 in 16.5 rounds.
“We have great depth, as good as its been in a long time,” Moe said. “We have eight or nine guys that have a legit chance to be in the top five so depth is going to be a big advantage for us. We lose JP and Max, who had significantly low numbers, but that can be made up for in the team score with our number four and five golfers posting low scores compared to last year in those spots.
“Wyatt is fully recovered from injury and playing really well. Jack is in the lineup this year and I’m excited for him as a senior. And Chris is looking very poised as a first year player.”
Moe, who is in his 26th year as head coach of the men and 18th with the women, expects the “usual suspects” to be at the top of the conference, but also expects there to be a high level of competition on both the men’s women’s sides.
“Every year it is tight in our conference and that’s what makes our conference fun. You can’t just show up and expect to win. There’s little room for error and you need to take advantage of your opportunities.”