The Loyola men’s and women’s golf teams have started practicing for their upcoming spring season, one that kicks off on Fat Tuesday.

The teams began practicing last week and will continue training for the next five weeks until their season opener at the College of Coastal Georgia. They competed in three events in their fall season, and will compete in five this spring, as this season is geared more towards conference and national championships.

The women’s team advanced to nationals last year, where they placed 20th with a team score that put them +142 for the tournament.

Head coach Jeff Lorio said that the women are using that as a driving force this upcoming season.

“It was a really big accomplishment for the team. They were in awe. We learned a lot about how national championship teams play and what it takes to be a contender,” Lorio said.

Lorio said that this year, their biggest goal is to get back into that tournament.

As for the men’s team, Lorio said they are a part of a tough conference. When they compete against those teams, they aren’t quite there yet, he said.

“We have lots of talent, now it’s just a matter of bringing that to the competition. We have to put it into action; once they believe it, we will be able to do it,” Lorio said.

Sarah-Anne Smurlick, mass communication senior, has been one of the stronger competitors for the women’s team. During her time at Loyola, she has collected numerous wins and awards, including her induction onto the 2014 SSAC All-Conference Team.

Smurlick is taking this upcoming season very seriously. She participated in a tournament over  Christmas break as well as in one last weekend, and has been taking private lessons from a local coach outside the program.

“Hopefully they will help me unlock the key to get to a better place,” Smurlick said.

Austin Schillaci, management junior, is a first year transfer student. Despite this, Lorio said Schillaci is one of the strongest golfers and has been named team captain.

“He is one of our top talents. He is a natural born leader, works hard and will be a big factor into our successes this season,” Lorio said.

Schillaci hopes to make his first year here a strong one, and said that he believes his talents will be tested this season more so than the fall because it’s a much more competitive series of tournaments. He also said that this semester in particular, he has more time to focus on his game. However, the most important thing, Schillaci said, was playing a consistent golf game.

“We have to peak at the right time. If we peak at the right time, which is conference, that’s the key,” Schillaci said.

Lorio said that the biggest factor to their success this season would be consistency and focus. He said they need to constantly make smart decisions in competition and think about each shot as its own entity .

“If we can do that, we should be able to reach our goal of getting back to that National Championship,” Lorio said.

Practices are in full swing, and will be tested on Mardi Gras day, bringing a whole new definition to ‘laissez les bon temps rouler.’