For much of the 2015 spring season, the men’s and women’s golf teams have hovered around the middle of the pack in tournament competition. That trend was broken in the team’s latest tournament.

The men’s team made Loyola golf history in the William Carey Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday, March 17, finishing third overall.

The team’s head coach, Jeff Lorio, said that players are prone to struggle under pressure. However, this year’s team welcomed every moment.

“It was a new experience for the guys to feel that type of pressure, and I know that they gained a lot of experience from that. We have talked, and they want to be in that situation again,” Lorio said.

Valentin Riebesell, business administration sophomore, said the team has been battle-tested for much of the season, making the historic finish even more significant for them.

“At the beginning of the tournaments, we played in conditions that we have not played in before. It was a struggle, but now we have finally succeeded. It really showed us that we have the potential to become a lot better,” Riebesell said.

The women’s team has also kept pace with a few second place finishes this season.

Julchen Narwark, international business sophomore, said that the team is confident in its solid play coming off of last season’s success.

“Competing at the national championship last year was a huge success for us as a first year team,” Narwark said. “I think this was a huge drive for us this season to get there again and improve our game individually but also as a team. We have all worked very hard this season and we are ready for our conference tournament.”

The women’s team will play in the SSAC Conference tournament  Friday, April 17 in Montgomery, Alabama. The men will be back on the green for the NAIA Championships from May 19-22 in Daytona Beach, Florida.