Changes likely after tough tourney

Sub-par results may lead to lineup changes next weekend for the Minnesota men’s golf team.
The Gophers carded a 23-over par and tied for sixth with Marquette and Pepperdine at the Gopher Invitational at Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata.
Louisiana State and Texas tied for first, while Big Ten teams Iowa and Wisconsin finished fourth and fifth, respectively .
Despite having two top-11 finishers in junior Ben Pisani , who finished tied for eighth and senior Victor Almstrom , who tied for 11th, director of golf Brad James said overall performance was poor and couldn’t be attributed to the weather conditions.
“The weather was very good the first two rounds,” James said. “The scores weren’t there but they did a good job focusing on things they could control.”
Two regular starters struggled this weekend. Senior Yu Katayama finished tied for 55th with a 21-over par and senior Andy Paulson tied for 20th .
“A couple of guys had a rough weekend that you count on to perform, especially your seniors,” James said. “The performance wasn’t there this week.”
Overall, the team was prepared going into the event at their home course. After the first round, the Gophers were fifth in the team standings but slipped to ninth after the second round. An early tee time helped the Gophers in the third round as the weather acted up and the course played rough.
“I think there will be some changes in the lineup going into the next tournament. I think it’s time to give some freshman a go and see what they can do,” James said.
Solid start for women
The Minnesota women’s golf team got off to a favorable start this season with a second-place finish at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Gophers ended with a 20-over par while Michigan took first with a 9-over . Inclement weather prevented the golfers from competing in the full three rounds.
Minnesota managed to produce two top-ten finishes.
Senior Kelli Berns was solid with four birdies and finished second at the par-71 course . Sophomore Teresa Puga finished tied for sixth with a 3-over par.
“To compete at the level we want to compete at, those are the types of scores we need to produce,” James said. “It was good to see.”
Sophomore Mary Narzisi tied for 23rd with a 7, while teammate senior Paige Bromen shot a 10-over and tied for 46th.
“We still have a lot to learn. We still need to produce some lower scores,” James said. “The girls are doing a great job of looking at themselves and getting better every week.”