Tigers golf teams continue to grow and improve

Coach: Eric Telander.

Key returnees: Girls — Juniors Ruth Widenstrom, Abri Talberg. Boys — Senior Gabe Weidenstrom, Brayden Zaske, Eli Umbright.

Outlook: The expectation of the Rush City boys and girls golf teams this season will be to rely heavily on improving their short game – and to compete for a Great River Conference title on the boys side, according to Telander.

“It’s just trying to trim our strokes back as best as we can. Hopefully we are able to do that and play around the greens,” he said. “We are also excited about the chance to be competing for a conference championship on the boys side.

“I think it will be great if we could finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. That would be a good goal for us.”

A small team on the girls side this year, the Tigers will have two girls compete on the varsity side, while roughly four to five boys will occupy varsity spots.

The program didn’t lose a single senior to graduation from last year, a promising feat in the growing sport at Rush City schools.

With a single senior boy in Gabe Weidenstrom, the Tigers have a few golfers to keep an eye on.

Key returnees for the boys include Weidenstrom, Brayden Zaske and Eli Umbright, all of whom return with significant varsity experience.

The two varsity girls in Ruth Widenstrom and Abri Talberg, are what Telander says are, “two of our most solid girls players right now.”

Telander notes that the biggest potential challenge that either team may face throughout the season is the overall self-confidence amongst his golfers.

“Since it’s an individual sport, I think the biggest thing for them is to trust their swing and trust in their abilities that they’ve worked so hard on,” he said.

“Also, just dealing with the weather too. Being able to be mentally tough dealing with wind and rain and whatnot, those are kind of the things I see as challenges.”