The men’s and women’s golf teams hosted the Loras Spring Invitational this past weekend.

The invitational was the first competitive meet under Loras’ new head coach, Jeremy Hawkins, who took the reigns of the golf program in January after the former head coach, Jim Davison, resigned after just one semester at the helm.

Hawkins, a graduate of Winona State University in Minnesota, also is the head golf professional at The Meadows Golf Course in Asbury. Hawkins will retain that position while heading up the two golf teams.

For the men, the tournament marked the start of the competitive season leading up to the Iowa Conference Championships that will take place over two weekends, beginning April 23 and concluding May 1. A year ago, the men finished fourth in the Iowa Conference Meet, led by senior Mark Dolphin, who had an impressive fourth-place individual finish in the IIAC.

This past weekend, the Loras meet was a chance to give every student-athlete on the men’s team a chance to compete, so the Duhawks were split up into three teams, with the highest-placing Loras team finishing fifth among nine teams in the tournament.

First-year Sam Herrmann was the highest individual scorer for the Duhawks, finishing in a tie for fifth after the two-day competition. Junior Noel Frideres finished in a tie for 16th, junior Andrew Schroeder tied for 19th place, Dolphin was 25th, and sophomore Beau Brandt finished in a tie for 26th place.

For the women, the tournament was an opportunity to work off the rust of the winter layoff. Unlike the men, the conference tournament takes place in the fall for the women, and the Duhawks finished seventh in the big meet.

However, since the optimal weather conditions to play golf during the school year is so limited, the spring season offers the Duhawks some valuable time to hone their skills for the upcoming fall campaign.

The women finished fourth in the Loras Spring Invitational, with first-year Abby Potts pacing the Duhawks’ attack with a fifth-place individual finish in the two-day meet.