Waynesburg University’s women’s golf team participated in the Grove City Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 26.

For the second time this season, the Yellow Jackets were only able to send two women in freshmen, Abigail Noble and Julia Clement, as junior’s Sara Otto and Maeve Hanley had class-related commitments. 

Head coach Mike Cipoletti provided a focus on the future as it pertained to his two youngest players. 

“I look for them to make the bigger improvements in the spring season, after they’ve had a semester under their belt, and feel a little bit better about how their time commitment is and all that stuff,” Cipoletti said. 

Sending just two women poses a bit of a problem, as Waynesburg can’t compete in the team portions of the event, leaving them to be scored solely as individuals. 

Clement was disappointed about said obstacle, but provided a positive spin on the experience she got. 

“An advantage of having a small team is being able to connect easily with the other girls on the team and individualized coaching,” Clement said. 

It was Noble that led the Yellow Jackets in Grove City with her highest scoring match of the season, carding a 108 and tying for 56th out of the 71-golfer field. 

Finishing with 126 strokes was Clement, who is also looking ahead to the spring season. 

“With each match, I feel like I am improving and gaining experience for the spring season,” Clement said. “As a team, I think the fall season shows our potential for the spring season.”

The final event of the fall is the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships, where every team will battle it out. 

It will no doubt be the largest group Clement has seen in one place at the collegiate level. Luckily for her, she has a veteran in Hanley leading the way for the group. 

“Maeve is a great role model on and off the course,” Clement said. “She gives good advice and is a person who will always be there to help you.” 

As far as the coaching perspective goes, Cipoletti, who’s an assistant professor of forensic science at Waynesburg, put academics more at the forefront. 

“There can be a lot of pressure on the midterms. Taking that into consideration, I just wanted them to keep working at it,” Cipoletti said. “I really don’t have any expectations in terms of how they finish.”

As it currently stands, all four women are set to travel to Avalon Lakes Country Club in Warren, Ohio for the PAC Championships on Oct. 14 and 15, which will be the final event until the spring season.