KENDALL PAYNE / Photo courtesy of UDM Sports Info
BY SCOTT SPARKS / VN STAFF WRITER
Five members of the Detroit Mercy women’s golf team have been playing together for three years now – and they have big goals for their season.
The lineup also includes two freshmen. There are no seniors and no sophomores.
Over the weekend, the Titans participated in a tournament near Orlando, Florida, where the conference championship will be held in April.
“It’s a great start to the season because we get to play this course now and get good practice in for later in the season,” said Alexa Hatz, a junior on the team.
While the women want to win, they also want to have fun with golf because they don’t want to add pressure to themselves or the team.
“Our goal is to win the Horizon League championship but also have fun because if we don’t have fun, we probably aren’t going to win the championship,” said Hatz.
They also have been having more team-bonding opportunities during the off season.
The Titans believe that good team chemistry and enjoying themselves are part of the recipe to success.
“We are really lucky to have been together for so long and to develop together,” said Elle Greenlee, a junior. “Adding our freshmen this year added a whole new perspective, talents and personality to our team. We all love each other so much and can’t wait to see how it helps us this spring.”
Aside from Hatz and Greenlee, the other team members are juniors Shana Murphy, Kendall Payne and Julia Shaw and freshmen Sydney Bradford and Shae Zydeck.
The team has been practicing every day and working out on early mornings to increase their power and conditioning.
The women will travel to Alabama and Florida in March.
You can follow the team this season on DetroitTitans.com and check their progress throughout the spring.