Muhlenberg golf teams maintain competitive edge on the course and in the classroom
College athletes at Muhlenberg turn daily tasks into a competition frequently. From beating others to the lines at the Nosh, or trying to get higher grades than teammates, having a competitive edge is a natural part of a day in the life of Mules on campus.
The men’s and women’s golf teams are expected to play with this competitive edge at all of their outings says head coach John Librick. Librick, though, has offered a challenge to his teams to maintain their competitiveness in the classroom as well. When asked what his goals were for his players the first thing out of his mouth was “maintain a team GPA of around 3.5.”
Librick must also be impressed with his athletes after their stellar performances so far this spring season. Unfortunately, a couple of tournaments have already been cancelled or postponed due to the poor weather of March, but both teams have had impressive scores in their action so far.
The women’s team has placed in first and second in their two tournaments of the spring. The team has seen a strong performance out of Aine Filler ’19, who was named the Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year and a member of the 2016 All Centennial Conference First Team. Filler played a large role in the first-place finish at the Muhlenberg Invitational, recording an 86 — good for the third lowest score. “The best part of the season thus far was winning the Muhlenberg Invitational as a team. We were the first Muhlenberg women’s squad to ever win our home tournament, so that will be pretty memorable,” said Filler.
This success should come as no surprise, as Librick said he has been impressed with the women’s team dating all the way back to the fall season. “During the fall season, some school records were broken and the team has become more competitive,” said Librick.
The Mules have four more tournaments they are set to compete in. Coach Librick would like to see them “continue to lower our team score on a consistent basis to 350 or better.” To accomplish such scores, Librick and Filler have found some areas of improvement from the previous tournaments. Librick pointed to chipping and putting mistakes early on which, if cleaned up, could improve scores at upcoming tournaments.
Filler thinks play will improve once practice is outdoors on a more consistent basis. “We will improve a lot as long as we get out to the course as much as possible to prepare for upcoming tournaments,” said Filler.
The men’s team has also participated in only two events this spring, finishing eight out of 18 in the first tournament and second out of seven in the second tournament. Top Mule performers in the McDaniel Spring Invitational (eighth place) were Ian Simon ‘19 and Ben Lieberman ‘19, both finishing under 160. In the Moravian Spring Invitational (second place) Lieberman and Sam Gersten ’20 tied for fourth overall with a score of 76. A third Mule, John Froberg ‘17 also cracked the top 10 finishing tied for seventh with 77. Froberg sees the high number of top finishes by different golfers as a good thing for the men’s team. “It’s great to see the whole team so eager to get working on their game. We have a lot of high expectations for this year, and it’s definitely exciting to see the whole team committed, engaged and focused,” said Froberg.
Librick is also proud of the men this spring. “So far this season, the thing that has impressed me the most is how they maintain a high GPA while still being able to play golf at a high level,” Librick explained.
To carry the men through the rest of the season, Librick would like to see an improvement in the mental aspects of golf. “All these guys can play golf very well. The toughest part of this sport is maintaining focus and concentration for 18 holes,” Librick said.
“The ability to leave the bad shots behind them and improving mental toughness could lead to lower individual rounds and for better team scores.” Froberg agrees that the talent is present, but staying focused is what separates the good teams from the great teams. “This team has plenty of talent to be dangerous in the conference championship. We just need to find a way to all bring our A-games at the right time,” stated Froberg.
Expectations are high for the Mules, but the depth and determination has their eyes set on a Centennial Conference Championship. “One goal: win the conference championship. It’s really as simple as that. No reason we shouldn’t be able to get that done. We’re just going to have to bear down and focus all season,” said Froberg.
The weather has been a factor for both Muhlenberg teams, as well as teams all over the northeast. However, Muhlenberg has one advantage the golfers have been able to utilize while snow and rain have made many courses unplayable for much of the spring season and that is the golf simulator. The golf simulator in the golf teams’ practice space has been, according to Froberg, “Absolutely huge. The only thing that has given us a shot to compete early in the year,” he said. “It’s great because it’s allowed us to work on our mechanics a lot over the winter,” Froberg added. Filler agreed saying the golf simulator is a great fall back for when the courses aren’t ready to go.
Both the men’s and women’s golf teams have their eyes set on a mighty prize for the spring season. But to achieve such high ranks of success on the golf course, Librick is adamant about his players performing just as well in the classroom.