The women's golf team plans on bouncing back from this past Monday and Tuesday's struggles at Pinehurst at the Longhorn Invitational next weekend in Austin, Texas.
Texas will play host to the invitational beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18
Though the team has not been there in a few years, the course is known to be very challenging, especially with the spring season's high winds.
The Nittany Lions hope to capitalize on the opportunity that they have more time than usual to prepare for this challenge because of spring break. The team will leave on Sunday and have four full days of practices on the course before the tournament.
Senior Maggie Lester said the extra time will be beneficial, because the team hasn't been outside much and this will be a "good opportunity to work on things and get used to being outdoors."
Penn State performed better on the second day at Pinehurt and is hoping to build off that success at this tournament.
"Us ending the way that we did the final day, with all of us coming together, regrouping and posting a good number will help us get excited and get ready for the tournament," Lester said.
Lester was named to the All-Big Ten second-team in 2006 and went the entire season without missing a tournament.
Lester's goal is to finish among the top 10 or 15 individually in this tournament, which traditionally has a highly competitive atmosphere with about 12 to 15 teams expected to compete.
"This will be a good test for myself as well as the team," Lester said.
When it comes to preparing for their tournaments, the golfers look to their leader, 15-year head coach Denise St. Pierre, for valuable advice.
One of the best in the business, St. Pierre has been selected twice to coach the United States women's golf team, most recently at the 2006 World University Games in Torino, Italy.
"I think that we all just really need to do what [coach] Denise always talks about," Lester said. "Really focus before the tournament to prepare us for when we're actually competing."
Every tournament, including the ones they competed in during the fall, count toward the team's overall ranking, leaving little room for mistakes.
During the fall season, Penn State finished No. 9 at the Lady Northern competition, No. 1 at the Nittany Lion Invitational and No. 12 both at the Mercedes Legends and the Landfall Tradition.
Not practicing outdoors this season has affected the team's start, but shouldn't be a problem much longer.
The Lions are hoping for warmer temperatures when they return from Texas next weekend but are still not sure when they will begin practicing on the Penn State Blue Course. In previous seasons, the team has begun practicing outdoors in early Mach, but that has not been the case so far.
