Junior Hanna Torline stood on the lush grass of the fairway and lined up her club for her shot onto the green on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the Saint Thomas Aquinas Invitational. She stood in awe with teammate, junior Hadley Tharp, as the ball rolled onto the green near the hole. They smiled and attempted a fancy handshake in approval.

Without the leadership of any seniors, underclassmen accepted more responsibilities on the team. While the lack of seniority offered certain disadvantages, many liked the way it allowed the team to feel more equal.

“Although it would’ve been nice to have senior leadership, this year gave underclassmen an opportunity to step up and contribute and be more involved in the team,” Torline said.

Many felt the small team benefited them, with 12 total girls and only six varsity members. While the underclassmen sometimes felt pressured by the need to contribute to the success of the team, they enjoyed having the opportunity to step into leadership roles sooner than expected.

“Without any seniors, nobody felt superior to anyone else because we were all closer in age,” sophomore Bailee Flaming said. “There was more of a consistent skill level.”

Because of the small range in ages, the girls felt more unified both on and off the golf course.

“I liked being able to joke around with the underclassmen and get to know them better. When I was an underclassman, I was shyer and I didn’t feel like the upperclassmen reached out to me,” Torline said.

Head coach Adam Wessel also enjoyed seeing the girls come together.

“I didn’t go out of my way to force them to get along,” Wessel said. “It was really neat because I could tell that they were all really tight.”

Despite the lack of seniority, the team improved at every tournament. With a first place victory at the Spring Hill Invitational and a second place finish at Falcon Lakes, Wessel loved seeing how the hard work they put in at practice made them successful. Although none of the girls placed, Torline, Flaming and Tharp each scored well enough at the regional level to qualify for the state tournament.

“We had the mind set at practice to get better every day, while also having fun,” Wessel said. “The girls worked hard at practice this year and I think our success was a direct result of that.”