Men’s golf swings into action

The men’s golf team will get back into action as they open their spring season this weekend in Storm Lake at the Buena Vista Invite.
The men hope to make a run this spring and close the 10-stroke gap between them and Sioux Falls for the national tournament. There are two of the four GPAC qualifiers left in the season.
When asked if the national tournament spot was attainable, head coach Aaron Aberson said, “We have a pretty solid track record against Sioux Falls this year, and we believe we are capable of attaining our goal.  With that said, we will have to play our best team golf of the year in order to make our move.”
The possibility of rust is always a factor for teams in the area, but Aberson believes that momentum and experience will be enough for the Raiders to overcome it, saying, “We are taking a lot of confidence and hunger into the spring season. . . Four of our five varsity guys are from the Midwest and are used to having this break each golf season.  I think that allows us to shake that rust a little quicker.”
There is reason for excitement in the golf program, as the team will not lose any players to graduation at the end of the season. Not only that, but underclassmen led the Raiders all throughout the fall season. Freshmen Kyle Stanek, Ryan Kiewiet and Neil Malenke teamed up with sophomores Michael Dykema and Michael Clark as the five Raiders on the scorecard in the two fall GPAC qualifiers, putting NW into position to compete for a post-season berth.
The eight other men on the roster include two freshmen, one sophomore and five juniors.
Aberson concluded by saying, “We gained a lot of valuable experience in the fall. We had a very successful fall season, but we faced some adversity with a less-than-desirable result at our second conference meet.  I’m very interested to see how our guys bounce back from this.”
Tee-off for the invite will be at 11:40 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday in Storm Lake.