Head golf coach Greg Sigler has a decorated career at Southwestern, earning Coach of the Year honors four times, winning the conference tournament with his team four times, and coaching four SCAC tournament medalists during his seven-year tenure at Southwestern.
But this year will undoubtedly stick out in Coach Sigler's mind. "It was a very slow start to the season," Sigler recalls.
The Pirates finished in the top five in their first tournament of the year at the Rhodes Invitational in Tunica, Mississippi. The field was not just competitive but chock-full of national contenders, including five teams that finished in the top 25 of the national tournament.
Despite their solid performance in Tunica, a close look at the scores revealed the Pirates were all over the map. None of their scoring players put together a steady three-round score throughout the tournament. This inconsistency would show throughout the fall.
The team quickly dropped out of the national spotlight. Southwestern's season ground to a halt after an underachieving finish at the John Bohmann Memorial Invite and a second to last-place finish at the Alamo City Classic. Then, the Pirates ended their fall stint by finishing in a tie for 17th out of 24 teams at the Golfweek Invitational.
Even with their finishes in the fall season, Coach Sigler remained optimistic about his team. "Bryce and Matthew got a lot of good experience," Sigler noted about his freshman players.
Bryce Stiemert and Matthew Peesker had the opportunity to play in multiple tournaments in the fall, but the fall wasn't just a valuable experience for the young players; it was a learning process for the older ones as well. For Southwestern to increase its chances of competing for a SCAC title, it would have to learn to fight through a bad round or even a bad day.
"You're not always going to feel good out on the golf course, so you have to take those 'off days' and learn how to manage them," says Sigler. "I try to get the guys to understand you can miss shots, and you won't be perfect, and that's alright, but they also have to recognize that every stroke counts in the tournament, so you have to be careful."
This lesson would prove to be crucial later on in the year. Every single shot counts in a tournament.
The Pirates were put to the test right out of the spring season on a challenging TPC San Antonio course. Unfortunately, the Pirates didn't seem up to the test, ending in seventh out of a nine-team field at the D3 San Antonio Invitational.
But then something clicked, and it took one of the more physically demanding tournaments of the entire year for the Pirates to take to Coach Sigler's lesson about the importance of every shot.
The Schreiner Shootout at Comanche Trace was flat-out miserable golf weather. The winds were high, the weather was cold, and the course was challenging. It wasn't just that every shot would matter in the tournament, but every shot would matter just to keep the ball in play. The Pirates would end in second place, only two strokes behind Concordia (TX) and one stroke above Our Lady of the Lake.
The Pirates finished well because of their patience and "grind-it-out" attitude throughout the tournament. The team shot 308 and 306, keeping their consistency when most teams could only manage one good round.
Christian Rodriguez and Nicholas Hoisington emerged as steady hands for the Pirates coming out of the Schreiner shootout. They led the team, and the field as Rodriguez tied for third and Hoisington tied for fifth. Rodriguez and Hoisington shot a two-round score of 151 and 152, respectively, with the winning score being 150.
Both were able to stay consistent due to their excellent mindsets, Rodriguez being the determined and unbending golfer and his counterpart, Hoisington, always cheerful and untroubled.
The second-place finish was considered a success amongst the group, but overall there was a feeling that if they had made a few more shots count, they could have come away with the trophy at Comanche.
Just like the Rhodes Invitational at the beginning of the year, the Jekyll Island Collegiate gave the Pirates a chance to stack themselves up against the best teams in the country.
Again, Rodriguez and Hoisington proved to score consistently well for the Pirates, but Stiemert found his confidence in Jekyll. Stiemert finished the tournament at even-par throughout three rounds, besting the two upper-level students by two strokes.
The Pirates would finish 15th in the 30-team field, with almost every team above Southwestern finishing in the top 25 at the end of the year.
"I think Jekyll was a success. To finish in the top half of that tournament is pretty good," Sigler said.
With the Pirate's positive momentum going into their home course at the West Region Invitational, the opportunity was there to outperform conference and regional opponents.
The team capitalized on their opportunity and secured the victory on their home course at Berry Creek Country Club. At Berry Creek, everyone came out to score for the team.
The team's lone senior, Thomas Kuznar, finished in fifth place with a score of even for his three rounds, by far his best tournament.
Kuznar, who is popular amongst his teammates for his hard work and dedication over his four years, was embraced by his team on the ninth green at Berry Creek after helping propel his team to a win on their home course.
With the win in the West Region, the Pirates were getting hot at just the right time going into the SCAC Championships. Stiemert, Hoisington, Kuznar, and Austin Kelley all finished in the top 15 in the West Region. But one player, in particular, caught fire.
Rodriguez won his home tournament by shooting a blistering four-under for the tournament, including a second-round 65, which tied the course record and the low individual round in Southwestern's history.
The men's team hadn't competed in the conference tournament since 2019, but it was all excitement and light nerves headed into the championship.
With the team playing their best golf all season and Rodriguez proving he could be its ace-in-the-hole, confidence ran high. Coach Sigler was there, however, to remind them to be patient and find a way to get the job done on every hole.
The Pirates jumped out to the lead at the end of round one, with three golfers shooting two over or better for their round. But defending conference champions, Trinity University, were only three shots off the lead.
After the first day, Southwestern shot 300 as a team in their second 18 holes. If it weren't for Rodriguez's second-round score of 68, the Pirates might have dug a hole they wouldn't be able to climb out of. As a result, Trinity would lead by two strokes going into the final day.
The weather took a 180-degree turn on the final day of the championship. Clear and sunny skies turned into cloudy, drizzling rain throughout the final round. A two-stroke lead for Trinity turned into as many as five strokes throughout the last day.
Trinity appeared to be on its way to defending its title… until the last few holes.
Kelley, Stiemert, Hoisington, and Rodriguez combined to finish two under par on the tournament's final three holes, and the Pirates emerged with a one-shot victory over Trinity. However, Rodriguez's final putt for par proved the differentiator and provided the final one-stroke margin for victory.
Stiemert, who had a triple bogey on hole 13 coming down the stretch, remained unfazed and parred four out of his last five holes to finish out. Hoisington and Kelley, who had lackluster second rounds of the tournament, bounced back for the Pirates when it mattered the most.
Even with the SCAC championship in hand, Coach Sigler believes more work is to be done, with his sights set on an NCAA tournament berth. Having been to the national tournament twice in his tenure at Southwestern, he is itching to get his team back into national contention.
"The goal is to be competitive at a national level. Almost all of our guys are coming back, we've got some good players coming in for the first-year class, and everyone has plenty of experience", Sigler said. The Pirates have NCAA tournament experience on the roster. Rodriguez, SCAC Men's Golfer of the Year, had the chance to compete against the best. Rodriguez was the highest conference finisher of the national tournament and was the lone SCAC athlete to post a pair of rounds in the 70s.
"Christian will learn from the national tournament despite missing the cut, he enjoyed the opportunity, and it's only going to make him a better player," says Sigler.
With the SCAC receiving an automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament next year, the sights are set for another conference championship and a bid to the tournament.
"This culture and this group of guys is one of the best I've ever had. Combined with their playability, there is a lot of excitement for next year. They just have to keep putting in the work."