Journal File Photo New Ulm’s Glavine Schugel tees off at the Section 3AA golf meet. The Eagles will be competing in the Class AA boys’ state golf meet beginning on Tuesday in Jordan. It’s the first time they’ve qualified for state since 2013.

NEW ULM — The last time the New Ulm boys’ golf team qualified for the state meet, it finished eighth.

While none of the 2013 team members are still with the team, it’s something the Eagles would still love to improve on this year when they tee off on Tuesday morning at Sand Creek in Jordan.

The boys’ team will be joined by New Ulm girls’ golfer Abbey Frauenholtz, who also qualified for the state meet. She was the lone girls’ golfer from the Eagles to make the tournament.

Boys’ head coach Dan Janke brings a team with three seniors and three underclassmen to Jordan on Tuesday and the team has high hopes.

The Eagles start Tuesday’s action when Jacob Runck tees off at 7:30 a.m. Gunnar Cowing (7:39), Matthew Janke (7:48), Alex Glowacki (7:57), Aiden Guggisberg (8:06) and Glavine Schugel (8:15) will follow him and they will tee off on Hole 10.

Coach Janke said his team has had high expectations all year. That showed when the Eagles took a 5-stroke lead after Day 1 of the Section 3AA tournament and held on to advance to state less than a week later.

“Our team knew that if we played at the top of our game, we could compete with our section and we did,” Janke said. “They did and they’re very excited and they did the best to their ability and came out on top.”

Janke said that he never really worried about the team losing their advantage after Day 1 of the section meet.

“Basically we just talked about, go play well not because you have to, but because you can,” Janke said. “The guys can go play, they can play it well. Don’t think about bad shots and remember they can play well. Once you start playing tight and thinking you have to play well, that’s when things can go bad.”

With three seniors on the roster, there is plenty of leadership, which makes it a very balanced team. Schugel, a freshman, has been another leader on the course and he will be a leader of this team for a long time, along with eight-grader Aiden Guggisberg.

“It’s really fun, we all get along really well, it’s just been a fun year,” Schugel said.

Schugel had a little bit of disappointment last year, just missing out on on state. That wasn’t the case this time around.

“Missed it by one [stroke], so I had a little sour taste, I think that helped a lot,” Schugel said.

The Eagles have competed at Jordan before and they fared well. Janke said it’s a challenging course for even the most experienced golfer.

“It’s got everything, it’s got a lot of tight areas, it’s got woods if you’re a little bit offline,” Janke said. “Some of the holes play incredibly long with tight landing areas.”

Despite the tough spots on the course, Janke knows his team can be competitive.

“Just go play your game,” Janke said. “We went to a two-day tournament in Jordan before, they know the course and they were competitive in that format before. Even Glavine was saying he’s going to be nervous on that first tee box, but hopefully they can get past that and just go realize this is just a normal game of golf.”

Abbey Fraueholtz makes state debut

Although she’s just a sophomore, those who follow the New Ulm girls’ golf team know all about Abbey Frauenholtz.

Frauenholtz will make her state tournament debut on Tuesday. She tees off at 1:12 p.m.

The four-time letter winner for New Ulm was the medalist in five events this year. Her nine-hole average has dropped every year and this year she is averaging a 45.1 over nine holes.

“She has been very focused on her goal of making the state tournament, but has been very much a team player this season,” he coach Todd McKeeth said. “She has been committed to the improvement of the team, and has been very friendly and encouraging to the younger girls on the team.”

McKeeth said that she puts a lot of time on the golf course. He said that she played in 10 competitive events last summer and she even started getting private lessons this past winter.

She’s quite the competitor, but she’s also a leader for the Eagles.

“One of Abbey’s best assets is her attitude on the golf course,” McKeeth said. “She stays positive and trusts her game, knowing that she will come through even if things don’t start out great. She has shown many times this season that she can finish strong and still come through with a good score.”

Her game has improved over time and it’s very possible she could do well at state despite it being her first time golfing at the state level. She twice shot an 83 this year over 18 holes and she finished third in the Big South Conference standings.

McKeeth said the key to her game on Tuesday and Wednesday will probably be the short game.

“Her driver and long game has been very steady this season,” he said. “When her chipping and putting is on, that’s when she really scores well.”