The golf teams competed in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships last weekend. While overall they were no match for golf strongholds Gustavus, St. Thomas, and St. John’s/ St. Ben’s, the Macalester squads still walked away feeling good about their performances.

After finishing last or second to last in the 10-team MIAC for the past seven years, the Macalester men’s team broke through to seventh-place.

Tied for seventh with St. Mary’s and St. Olaf after the first day, Mac was able to pull away on the second day, edging out St. Mary’s by two strokes, and beating Olaf by 9.

“I’m definitely happy with the way the team finished,” men’s team captain Kramer Lawson ’05 said. “I mean, seventh place, it’s not great, but it’s the best in years. It’s the best we’ve been since I’ve been here. It’s the best we’ve been since [men’s and women’s coach Martha Nause] has been here.”

Kristen Ausan ’08 was the highlight for the women’s team, as she finished off a great first season by shooting a 170 and placing fifth overall—good enough for all-conference honors. The team as a whole, though, was not as sharp as Ausan, and had to once again settle for last place in the conference. However, the squad improved by 60 strokes over last year’s results, by far the biggest such improvement for any team in this year’s tournament.

Ausan shot an 87 on the first day, putting her in ninth place overall. On day two of the tournament she shot an 83, just three strokes shy of the day’s leader. Other top Mac scorers on the women’s side were Kylie Thomson ’07 (31st-194), Anna Gizzi ’07 (41st-204), and Grace Arnold ’07 (48th-214).

MIAC tallies team scores by adding the top four players’ scores for each day, and then adding each day’s total. The Mac women were in eighth after the first day, but finished at 779, just two shots away from Augsburg’s score of 777.

“[Being so close to Augsburg] gives us lots of motivation to continue working this spring and I expect our team performance to dramatically improve next year,” Nause said.

Lawson (14th-155), who missed out on all-conference honors by two strokes, led the men. The other top Mac men were Wes McFarland ’05 (23rd-157), Eric Kelsey ’07 (26th-159), Chris Olson ’08 (42nd-171) and Tony Pratt ’07 (43rd-172).

The teams now look to the spring season, when each will play in a number of tournaments. Beyond the spring, the teams hope to continue improvements into next fall. The women, with only first-years and sophomores on the squad, will not graduate anyone for another two years. “I am very please and excited about Kristen…and I have very high expectations for her and the team in coming seasons,” Nause said regarding her young squad.

While the men will lose Lawson and McFarland in May, a young eight-man nucleus is in place and ready to take over for them.

“This is only the beginning,” Lawson said. “We’ve shown we’re not at the bottom of the conference anymore. They can do even better in years to come.”