Axl Rose may not go down in history as one of life's great philosophers, but perhaps he put it best in the epic Guns 'N Roses song, "November Rain":

"Everybody needs some time on their own."

The Penn State women's golf team is tightly knit, but many of the athletes are excited about the chance to take a weekend off from competition and enjoy some time to themselves.

After four consecutive weekends of playing in tournaments, three of which were away, the Nittany Lion golfers have become worn down and say that the rest comes at just the perfect time.

Women's golf coach Denise St. Pierre has given her team from tomorrow until Tuesday to have some fun and to relax.

"I trust they're not going to do anything completely outrageous," St. Pierre said, "but I didn't want them to feel guilty about taking a day away from golf."

Following her third consecutive individual title, Katie Futcher, the Lions' No. 1 player, plans on heading to Philadelphia to rock out watching her favorite band, Counting Crows. She said the break came at just the right time for her.

"Mentally it's so, so tiring," Futcher said of playing in four consecutive tournaments. "I told Denise that four weekends in the summer is tough, but four weekends when you have to worry about schoolwork is really hard."

Futcher's teammate, Keri Dugan, plans to use the time to head home to Erie for a wedding. She said it would be nice to get home and see her dog.

"This break will give each of us a chance to get back on track," Dugan said.

"It's tough on the road ... you get home late Sunday night and leave again on Wednesday."

Senior Meghan Mull echoed her teammates' sentiments about the break, but mentioned that she will probably use the time away from competition to work on her swing.

"It's nice to have the time [to work on my swing]," Mull said. "So it's not just a quick fix, not just to put a Band-Aid over it."

The players aren't the only ones looking forward to the rest. St. Pierre said that coaching has tired her out a little bit as well.

"With being on the road and all that goes with that, this little break will refresh me and help me be better for the team," St. Pierre said.

So far this season, the Lions have won two tournaments and finished second and fourth in two others. However, following its victory at the Nittany Lion Invitational last weekend, the team dropped in the Golfstat/Sagarin rankings to No. 33.

Similarly, Futcher dropped from fourth to ninth in the individual rankings following her third consecutive individual title.

St. Pierre said she understood the reasons and was trying not to focus on the rankings.

"It feels a little bit weird, but you see that across the board in sports," St. Pierre said.

She mentioned that ranking depends a great deal on strength of schedule and quality of opponent, and that the rankings are just a secondary motivation for the team.

"We're not playing for the rankings," St. Pierre said. "We're playing to be the best at that tournament."

Next week, "that tournament" happens to be one of the biggest of the fall collegiate season, the Mercedes Intercollegiate.

With the week off and a little bit of time on their own, the Lions are hoping to start the Mercedes with guns blazing, looking to make everything come up roses.