| Oct. 18, 2017 | 11
PHOTOS BY HARLIE DAVID | THE WICHITAN
Kevin Teems, junior, hits the shot during the MSU Invitational Golf Tournament at the Wichita Falls Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017.
Trip Hobson, business senior, hits the shot while being in the lead during the tournament.
Simon Ospina, undecided sophomore, hits the shot. “It’s a mental game and I have to be able to overcome difficulties during the course while staying calm.”
Men’s golf team win first at invitational CORTNEY WOOD FEATURES EDITOR
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s he loaded his golf clubs, Trip Hobson, marketing senior, smiled with confidence. His first win as a Mustang was in the books after a “tough personal season,” he
said. More than 12 hours of play over the course of Oct. 16-17, Hobson won the Midwestern State Invitational for individuals and helped drive the team win which will move the team up several spots in the district. According to Hobson, the fall season has been busy with traveling to Colorado but the team has pushed through to earn their ranking as 15th in their district. Hobson now has 10 par-or-better scores in 33 rounds at MSU.
“I’ve not been able to pull anything out lately, but it was finally paid off today,” Hobson said. “With this win we will move up quite a few spots, and I will advance individually.” Growing up near a nine hole course, Hobson said he spent most of his childhood on the green as well as his teenage years. Because golf is primarily a mental game, Hobson said it’s unlike any other sport. “The mental grind is as important as the physical,” he said. “Anybody can swing a club to hit the ball, but it takes somebody who really puts in enough mental focus to pull out a win in golf. It’s great to play it collegiately.” Teammate Chance Craig, mechanical engineering junior, finished 15th out of 84 in the tournament, and said along with mental diligence, the team is a driving force for him.
“Many people say golf is an individual sport, but I would argue that it is really a matter of who your team is,” Craig said. “If you have a group of guys that you get along with really well, it makes the trips and tournaments that much better. You can enjoy more.” According to Craig, the Cameron tournament is going to be challenging because depending on the course determines a level of difficulty. There is “someone will be more demanding” of the tee-box because there are more hazard area, but play smart, play safe and conservative because we will make the shots other people won’t by playing smart. “Hopefully next week we will stay focused and get another way to secure our spot in regionals and in the conference,” Craig said.
M E N ’ S G O L F C A M ER O N INV ITATIO NA L WILL B E OCT. 23-24.
Excitement builds for homecoming game, tailgate BRITTNI VILANDRE REPORTER
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or head football coach Bill Maskill, this week’s game is more than just a chance for the team to win. With a team ranked No. 5 in the American Football Coaches’ Association Top 25 and with an overall 42.2 game point average for the season, he needs to encourage the players while keeping them focused. “Homecoming is just an added deal to the game,” Maskill said. “What we’ve got to do is improve upon where we were last week and get better this week. Our absolute goal is just to win the game but to win the game we’ve got to get better.” Maskill said he hopes to remind the players and keep them focused on preparing. “Preparation is a never ending process,” Maskill said. “[It’s important to] focus on adjustments, whether it’s during the game, after
the game or before the game.” He said he believes you should always focus on adjustments, whether it is during the game, after the game or before the game. With previous players planning on attending the game, Maskill said he wants the team to make the football alumni proud. “One day that is going to be them,” Maskill said. With all of the activities going on this week, Maskill said he hopes to see the team focus more on the game while still enjoying Homecoming. In preparation for this week’s game, the players will be wearing pink socks in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Maskill said he feels tailgates energize the audience’s environment before each game. “When our players come up to the stadium and there are tents, music, people playing frisbee and playing ball — it’s just an aura that
excites them,” Maskill said. Among some of the game attendees and tailgaters are members of the Greek community. Kappa Sigma fraternity members will be grilling out, playing corn hole and having their traditional football toss game set up just for Homecoming. The tailgate will also be enjoyed by many alumni. “The tailgates this year have been small,” John Oleon, Kappa Sigma social chairman, said. He also said he hopes to see a bigger turnout and more participation on Saturday than any other tailgate so far. “The past Homecoming tailgates have gone down since I was a freshman,” Oleon said. “More rules have been set in stone, so to improve we just have to adjust to the rules and try to make the best of it.” Kappa Sigma will be teaming up with members of Gamma Phi Beta sorority and have been working together for the past two
weeks to spread Homecoming spirit. Noah Mclarty, Kappa Sigma assistant social chair, said, “It’s something that freshman can jump in and become part of the fraternity in a way. It is a great way to have fun, meet a lot of people and be as safe as possible.” Oleon said he encourages students to go to the tailgate who are still debating on attending. “It’s a good place to meet people that have gone to school here in the past, have fun, visit different groups and organizations and bring families,” Oleon said. At the beginning of every tailgate, the team has what they call the “Mustang Walk” and the players walk from the press box to the locker room with fans lining the sidewalk and cheering on the team. “We want all those tailgaters to come up and form a tunnel and have a tunnel back to our locker room,” Maskill said.
M USTAN G WA L K 5 : 5 0 P. M . I N M EM O R IA L S TA D IU M PA R K ING LO T | FOOTBALL GAME 8 P. M.