2010 MAC Championship--Daily Report

Wednesday April 21:

At 3pm we loaded up the van to head out of town and on our way to Fishers, IN for the 2010 MAC Championships! Loading up the van isn't always an easy task because there are a few people that pack heavy...haha! I was actually one of those this week. When I looked at the forecast it looked like a variety of temps and weather was possible, so I made sure I was prepared. I hate being cold, so I made sure to pack plenty of layers :).

The drive was pretty smooth. We ran into traffic around the Columbus, OH area only because it was rush hour, but we got through it pretty quickly. We finally stopped to eat some dinner as soon as we hit the Indiana border. The girls are actually not too picky when it comes to restaurants, so we found an O' Charleys and had a nice meal!

Once we arrived in Fishers at the hotel, we checked in, unpacked, decided on our uniform for the practice round, figured out the time to meet downstairs for breakfast and went to bed! The hotel was very nice and relaxing!

Thursday April 22:

Our practice round time was set for us at 9:20am. We were the third team to play that morning. So, we met for breakfast around 7:45am and then made sure we made it to the course to have an hour to warm up before playing. The weather for the practice round was beautiful. The sun was out and it was warm and there was no wind at all. Some of the girls had their yardage books from last year and kept mentioning how the wind was completely opposite from when we played there for the MAC Preview. No wind on that course definitely opened the door for low scores. After a 6 hour practice round and plenty of short game work, I had to head to a Head Coaches Meeting for the tournament and the team practiced for about an hour and a half. We had a great day and looked very good. I thought the preparation we did that day was very beneficial.

After we got done at the course, we decided to go ahead and grab some dinner. We were all hungry, but there isn't a time when we aren't hungry!! We head to our favorite place...Applebee's! We could probably eat there everyday as a team if possible, but sometimes it's good to mix it up a little bit. Some of the parents that were already in town joined us, so it was a great time as always! There is never a dull moment with this team...I'm always laughing!!

So, once dinner was over, most of the team called it a night, worked on homework and then went to bed. Before I went to sleep, I met up with some of the other fellow MAC Coaches and talked with them for a little bit. Such a great group of people to be around and funny too!

Friday April 23:

Tournament Time!! We drew the second wave of tee times for the first round of the 2010 MAC Championship and we played with Kent State and Bowling Green. This was the first time our team has seen Kent State all year and actually the first time we have ever played with them. It's amazing that we are only 20 minutes apart and have actually never played with them before. The girls got along with them quite nicely and I saw some future friendships develop :)! We made the turn in great position, but the back 9 (the tougher 9) got us pretty good that day. Although we didn't finish strong, we still posted a decent 310 and wasn't far back from the leaders (only 13 strokes down). We were in 6th place after day 1 and Katie and Kristen played very steady that day shooting 75, 76 respectively. Toward the end of the day it started raining on us a little bit. Once we were done we ate lunch at the clubhouse and went out to practice a little while there was a break in the clouds. That night the girls went out to dinner with their parents...I try to deem one night a tournament a parents night, so they get a chance to spend time with their families. The team seems to love that option :).

Saturday April 24:

We had the second wave of tee times again. This time we were paired with Eastern Michigan and Toledo. The forecast for that day was rain/thunderstorms. I looked at a radar for an hour the night before trying to figure out the direction the rain was coming from, but of course, I couldn't tell anything. We just all assumed that it was going to be one of those rainy golf days that everyone had to play in, so we were mentally preparing ourselves for it. But...the rain never came! There was no wind and even the sun showed itself several times! Ideal playing conditions yet again. Once the 2nd round was all said and done and the scores were added up, we found ourselves still in 6th place as a team shooting another 310! At least we were showing consistency! Kristen's play lead the team that day...she shot a 75 (without any birdies!). Tyler made a strong comeback shooting a 78. We still weren't too far behind the leaders though. With a good final round anything would be possible!

After the round was over, we went to Panera for lunch and then went back to the course for some practice. Once everyone felt good about their games, we headed back to the hotel for a little rest and to clean up before the banquet. The MAC Championship banquet was held at the Hawthorns clubhouse that night and it was a great setting. The food was tremendous! My plate was pretty full I will admit ;). The seniors were honored (I won't be doing that for another two years!) and the MAC Players of the Week for the year were recognized...Kristen received that honor 3 times which was the most by any MAC Women's Golfer this year! There was a really cool MAC Women's Golf video tribute at the end. But overall, it was a very nice evening out!

When we left the banquet, the weather started acting up! The wind was howling and the rain was starting. We had tornado watches until 3am the next morning! I slept through it of course...:).

Sunday April 25:

The skies were ugly when we got up and that didn't change the whole day. I felt bad for Hanna because it was her birthday and she had to spend it on the golf course in the pouring rain and hard wind! I think she had a good birthday though because she loves her teammates and she got to spend the day with them :). But, we knew that it was going to be a tough day. The girls hung tough mentally and really played well under the hard weather conditions. We shot a 309 (YES! Got off the 310 streak!!) and moved into 5th place! We were close to 4th place missing it only by 3 shots. Katie Jenior came to play...she was definitely in the zone. She shot a 1 over par 73! Kristen shot a 77 and birthday girl Hanna Ek shot a 78. Amanda Butler came in with an 81 and we were all so proud of her because she played the whole tournament very sick...at one point lost her voice! She definitely displayed some toughness there!

So once we finished, we loaded up the van and did our best to dry out. The cookout was after play, so we went into the clubhouse and had our lunch. Kent State took home the title...their 12th in a row. Ball State finished 2nd. Kristen finished the tournament t-13th and Katie finished t-11th. Kristen was voted on the 1st Team All-MAC!

Once the awards ceremony was done, we congratulated the winning teams and said thank you to the host school Toledo. We changed into some dry warm clothes and got on our way back to Akron! We arrived at 10pm, which wasn't too bad, and everyone parted ways to their houses :).

It was a great weekend! We had fun and held our own. We all have seen that it is possible to make a run for the MAC Championship we are already looking forward to next year! GO ZIPS!!