Women's Golf | 04.25.2021

LEWISTON, Idaho –The Lewis-Clark State College Women's and Men's Golf teams are hoping put it all together at the right time as they take part in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships Monday and Tuesday at Timberstone Golf Course in Caldwell.
 
Both teams have had their moments this spring, but have struggled to have individuals consistently put together solid rounds, which has hurt the team scores in tournament play. Warrior Golf Coach Kyle Lien is hoping that changes for the postseason.
 
"I feel pretty good because I think we are peaking at the right time," Lien said. "I know what the players can do, they know what they can do, and this spring we've been emphasizing that you have to trust yourself and recognize what you can do. We have to play smart golf."
 
The tournament will follow the format of the conference's regular season tournaments. The men will play 36 holes on Monday while the women play 18. Both teams then play 18 on Tuesday in the final round.
 
Seven teams will take part in the men's tournament. Joining the Warriors will be regular-season champion Bushnell, Oregon Tech, Multnomah, College of Idaho, Corban and Walla Walla. The same teams, minus Walla Walla and Multnomah, are scheduled to play on the women's side.
 
The conference played three tournaments in the spring and used a running score to determine the regular-season standings. Bushnell won the men's side by nine strokes over Oregon Tech, while LC tied College of Idaho for fourth, 44 shots behind.
 
On the women's side, Oregon Tech won the title by 22 strokes over LC, while Corban was a distant third.
 
The Warrior women are paced by senior Lauren Hamm, who finished second in scoring average at the three conference tournaments at 77.5 strokes per round. Sophomore Dean Caruso was fifth at 80.5 and junior Alexandra Schmidt was sixth at 81. As a team, LC averaged close to 325 strokes (top four scores) per round.
 
"We are capable of shooting lower than that," Lien said. "We haven't put it all together yet."
 
Consistent scoring has been more of an issue on the men's side where the conference tournament is fairly wide open among six teams.
 
"If you look at the tournaments we've played, everyone has had ups and downs, especially in the second rounds that have killed us," Lien said. "I think we have a good chance. We need to focus on our game instead of what other people are doing."
 
Junior Carlos Davila was fifth in scoring average at the conference tournaments at 75.1 strokes per outing while teammates Devon Caruso (77.8), a junior, and Jacob Waller (77.9), a freshman, were in the top 20.
 
"This spring hasn't been what Carlos wanted it to be, but I think he's due for a good tournament," Lien said.
 
Lien said the Timberstone course, which opened in 2011, will be challenging, especially in wet and cooler temperatures that are in the forecast for Monday.
 
"I think it's a golf course that will show who the best team and individuals are," Lien said. "It's not a super tight course, but it's demanding. The greens defend the course and is has some longer par 5s and par 3s.  I think by the end, whoever has been spending time this spring working on their games, it will show both individually and team-wise."
 
The champions of both tournaments earn automatic berths to the NAIA national tournaments next month. The individual champion, if not part of the winning team, can earn an individual at-large berth to nationals.
 
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