Bitter winds and cold temperatures swept through Michigan as Albion’s golf teams opened their spring season in the Thunder Brit Cup on Tuesday. Although they fell to Trine on both the men’s and women’s side – 41-29 and 42-27, respectively – Rochester Hills first-year Peyton Sage said the tournament went “pretty well” and the teams “pushed through” the challenge of the cold.
Both the men’s and women’s teams compete in four tournaments throughout the spring, the last being the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Finale tournament at the end of April. Last spring, the teams moved out of their old practice facility at Washington Gardner Center and into the Ludington Center, a change Rochester sophomore Matt Sypniewski said “helps the team achieve their goals.”
Sypniewski added that the teams have “a lot of talent on the roster, both on the men’s and women’s side.”
“Each year we’ve seen constant improvement,” Sypniewski said. “Everybody’s improving and furthering our goal of finishing higher in the MIAA.”
On Friday, the women’s team competed in the Lourdes Spring Invitational, placing first overall. Two athletes, Bath first-year Anna Schaibly and Fenton first-year Payton LaRowe, earned All-Tournament honors for their performances.
Head coach Jake Maas said the teams have “been moving up in the conference in recent years,” and they “just want to keep moving.”
“We’ve made ourselves into a team that can win tournaments,” Maas said. “That’s fun, but now that’s our goal every time we step on the course. We want to win, and if we play well, we can.”
A ‘Team-First Mindset’
According to Harbor Springs junior Taylore Wilson, the coaches have gotten a very “team-oriented” mindset “into (their) heads,” adding she “always thinks about the team before (herself).”
“We have a team creed that everybody reads and recites so they can understand and work towards it,” Wilson said. “It’s like, ‘You have to think about the team, focus on every detail, one shot at a time.’”
Maas said when he first “took over” as head coach five years ago, team culture “wasn’t great.”
“When we started our first meeting, I said, ‘Right now we’re going to start a new era of Albion College golf,’” Maas said, adding that now, everyone has a “team-first mindset, and they’ve really found success with it.”
“When you can focus on your team’s success before your own, that’s when you’re going to have the most success,” Maas said. “Just focus on the team, and the individual success follows.”
DeWitt first-year Julia Sambaer said that while she does have personal goals, “it’s more about the team and how the team is going to get there.”
When Maas recruits potential athletes, Wilson said he “looks at outside factors” beyond their golfing skills.
“He isn’t just focused on scores, he thinks about things like, ‘Would they be a good part of this team?’” Wilson said. “I think this has been beneficial because the team from my freshman year to now is completely different.”
According to Maas, the coaching staff has “met with recruits that are good at golf,” but they “can tell by how they talk to (the coaching staff) that they’re not going to focus on the team.”
“We want people to come here that are going to push their teammates and care about them,” Maas said. “Culture’s got to come first.”
New Facility ‘Helps Build Culture’
The new golf facility in the Ludington Center is “a great upgrade,” Wilson said.
“There’s more space,” Wilson said. “Before, it was kind of crowded. When we had practice inside, there just wasn’t enough space for everybody.”
When the teams were still at the Washington Gardner Center, Maas said they were “determined to make the best of what (they) can get.”
“We’re not going to sit around and wish we had something better,” Maas said. “I think that was big for Wayne (Webster) in terms of hearing that. If you have that mindset and just do your absolute best, people want to reward you for that.”
The golf center isn’t just a place to practice – it’s also a place for “people to hang out and call their home,” Maas said. For Sambaer, the center is a good place “to study sometimes.”
“I don’t even hit balls, I just like to be in there with everybody,” Sambaer said.
Sypniewski said spending time in the new center “helps build culture between the teams,” adding that it’s “kind of like a second dorm for a lot of people.”
“It’s definitely a space that is actually built to be a golf center,” Maas said. “I think it’s really been a driving factor in our program’s success.”
‘One Big Family’
Something they “do well compared to a lot of other schools,” Sypniewski said, is the relationship “between our men’s and women’s teams.”
“We’re really close, we’re good friends with each other,” Sypniewski said.
Sambaer said that, as a first-year, the team has “really helped” her adjust to college life, adding that “they give really good advice.”
For Sage, “it’s really nice” to be so close with her team.
“The boys are like big brothers to us, and the girls are so close,” Sage said. “We hang out and do things together, we have study sessions. They’ve been so helpful with all of it.”
Wilson echoed this sentiment, adding that the teams “always hang out together.”
“We’re like one big family,” Wilson said.
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