The Grand Valley State women’s golf team took a trip to compete in Nashville, Tennessee Monday, Oct. 24 and Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Of course, they didn’t just go for the live music in the country music capital of the world. They went to compete in the Trevecca Fall Invitational—their final tournament of the fall.

Monday, the Lakers put up fantastic numbers. They were tied for second place with Findlay, which is the No. 5 team in NCAA Division II.

At the end of the day Monday, the Lakers and Findlay finished with a 305. This was just three strokes away from first-place University of Indianapolis, which shot a 302.

“I think Indianapolis is No. 2 in the country and Findlay is No. 5,” said GVSU coach Rebecca Mailloux after Monday’s performance. “I’m pretty happy that we are neck and neck with them.”

After the first day being tied with Findlay, the Lakers needed to improve on the score they had on Monday. The Lakers were able to do just that.

Tuesday, the Lakers improved by three strokes to shoot a 302. However, Findlay improved by a whopping 13 strokes to shoot a 292, pushing GVSU to third place and claiming second place for themselves.

The Laker team was not happy with third. They were going for gold after the quality of play they showcased on Monday.

“I was upset and a little disappointed that I didn’t play my best,” said GVSU junior Samantha Moss. “Of course, we all think we could have made a few more shots out there, but I’m not really happy with third place. No one is.”

Day one, Moss posted the lowest score for the Lakers with a two-over 74. Day two was a different story. Moss added eight strokes to score an 82. Overall, she shot a 74-82-156.

“I was actually very excited about my first round,” Moss said. “I have never won a tournament individually, so I was really excited.”

Alex Taylor also played well these past two days. Taylor posted a four-over 76 on Monday, and an improved two-over-74 on Tuesday. Overall, Taylor shot a 76-74-150.

Maria Sol Pose also played well, shooting under 80 both days. Sol Pose shot a 77-79-156.

Katie Chipman, who has had a tremendous freshman season up to this point, started off Monday with a six-over-78. She improved on Tuesday, finishing with the lowest score of the Lakers’ season—a one-under-71.

“I feel like I was a lot more focused out there today,” Chipman said. “I was three under at one point and then in my last three holes I had two bogeys to put me one under.”

Julie Guckian also shot under an 80 both days. Guckian shot a consistent 79-78-157.

This is the last tournament for the Lakers in their fall season, which means offseason training is about to begin.

“Next week we will start our offseason weight training program,” Mailloux said. “Usually this time of year we will do a little Solheim Cup challenge.”

The team will split into two and compete for the next coming weeks before the snow covers the courses, just for some extra competition and practice.

Chipman is looking forward to improving herself for next season.

“I’m really proud of how the team played this fall season,” Chipman said. “I cannot wait for the spring to start up again.”