The women’s golf team is ready to take its trip to Florida over spring break and compete in the invitationals hosted by Butler University.

Even though the players will compete against Division I schools, it will not count toward the season, they see it as great practice.

“This spring break will be practice and prepare us for the rest of our season,” said Don Bisesi, head coach. “I obviously want them to do well. We can show them we can play.”

Junior accounting and professional services major Anastasia Carter said the invitational will give the ladies a chance to work out any kinks before they start their divisional play.

Coming off of its fall season, the Eagles are optimistic about how their spring season can continue to be successful.

The Eagles were able to get two back to back wins in tournaments, something Carter said is rare in golf due to the amount of teams that compete.

Senior accounting and professional services major Andrea Ribelin said those two wins specifically helped boost moral on the team and the fall was one of the best seasons she has seen during her time at USI.

Bisesi said the season was productive for the team and the players learned a lot from it.

He asked the players what they felt they had learned and he said they replied; “Every stroke counts and that it is not all about the individual not about the team.”

Ribelin said the team is like a family and any time someone is having a bad match, another member is there to pick them up with a good one.

Carter also said the team is very close and they find time at least every other week to get together and have dinner which makes playing the game a lot more fun Bisesi said.

“The team has great unity. I’ve had groups that don’t get along, you can play the game like that, but it isn’t much fun,” he said. “We’ve got a good group this year.”

The team is hoping to reach the NCAA tournament, Bisesi said.

Ribelin said she wants the team to win conference this year and then make it past regionals and on to nationals.

“Finishing strong in my last season and going out with a bang would be nice,” she said.

To reach these goals, the team has a few things it hopes to improve on.

Carter said they need more consistency and hope that when one player plays well, the whole team will play well.

The girls are always working to lower their score and improve upon their performance at the previous match.

“I think sometimes, at least for me, we don’t recover well after we have a bad hole,” Ribelin said. “We need to try and follow a bad hole with something good.”

The Eagles will travel to Florida and compete in the Benbow Invitational on March 9 and 10 and then compete in the Bulldog Florida Invitational on March 11 and 12.