As a freshman, Leah Grinsteiner didn't know what college golf would be like.
Then she met teammates Megan Fisher and Lyndsey Kent. The Dickinson natives eased Grinsteiner's nerves and together they've produced one of the top women's golf teams in NAIA's Region III.
"It's been a lot of fun more than anything. I think that's been helping me play," said Grinsteiner, a freshman from Bismarck. "Our team is so easy going and they're so fun to be around that it kind of takes some of the pressure off."
The Dickinson State trio earned all-conference honors this season and helped the Blue Hawks win their fourth Dakota Athletic Conference tournament in six years.
Fisher, a junior, has one tournament victory - a late September win at Minot State. Fisher finished higher than Kent and Grinsteiner in all but one tournament.
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"Her experience showed up the most of the three," DSU coach Tim Daniel said.
Fisher, a 2004 Dickinson High graduate, finished the conference season as the DAC's second-ranked golfer. Kent and Grinsteiner were second and third, respectively.
A strong start to the season helped the Blue Hawks realize what kind of group they were working with. DSU won all three tournaments in the fall, but struggled at its two spring tourneys.
The lack of progress hasn't hindered their attitudes though.
"It's been a lot of fun actually," said Kent, a 2005 Dickinson High graduate. "They're a fun group to play with. You know you're going to be alright. I like playing with them."
Over the weekend, Kent went to Oxbow Country Club south of Fargo - the site of the NAIA Region III tournament - to fire an extra practice round.
"It's actually pretty nice," Kent said. "There's a lot of sand traps and it looks like there's going to be a lot of water."
Although the three are all from North Dakota, none had ever golfed at Oxbow.
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"I've played everywhere else, but I've never played there," Fisher said.
DSU will need to shoot better than its season-best 685, an individual average of 85.6, if it plans to win at Oxbow. The trio and junior Megan Johns combined for that score at the Blue Hawk Invitational - play at Heart River and Pheasant Country Golf Courses - in early September.
"The girls are thinking that the winning team is all going to be in the 80s," Grinsteiner said. "I've got to try and keep it low so that we can have a shot. I know it's going to be close no matter what."
