Winona State University’s women’s golf team is currently ranked ninth of eleven in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) poll.
Third-year golfer Ally Loiselle said she has been helping the Winona State Warriors try to boost their team ranking
Starting at the age of four Loiselle began playing golf.
“I was about four when I started [playing golf] because my dad was the varsity coach at Shakopee High School for a bit for the girls,” Loiselle said. “I stopped playing until I was in seventh grade and then I picked it back up in eighth grade.”
After picking the sport back up, Loiselle continued playing through high school and was able to have her pick between a few schools on where to play at the collegiate level.
Loiselle said she chose to come to Winona State because of how important the coaching staff made her feel.
“They [Winona State golf coaches] just showed a lot more interest in me than some other teams,” Loiselle said. “I talked to other teams and they took months to even get back to me, where when I was recruited [at Winona State] it was the next day that I got a reply.”
Since coming to Winona State in 2018, Loiselle has had three new coaches, which she said was a challenge and an adjustment.
“I have been through three coaches within the last three years. Having that happen was a big culture change. I first recruited with Xenia, but she stepped down to work with the boys’ team. Freshman year I had Annie; it was a bad situation with her, it was bad culture [and] not organized at all,” Loiselle said. “Then now, Tiffany who I have had for the past two years, she really changed it all around and got organized.”
New coaching staff coming in over the years was not the only challenge Loiselle has had to endure during her time as a Warrior.
“I actually had shoulder surgery after my freshman year and I could not play the spring of my freshman year and had to take the whole summer off. Then I didn’t play the next fall and then COVID hit,” Loiselle said. “Before even coming to college, I tore my labrum in my shoulder and had bicep tendonitis. I chose not to do anything about it for eight months.”
Loiselle said when she is not on the course, working on schoolwork or working at Winona Health, she likes to hang out with her friends.
“We [Winona State golf teammates] are together almost every night,” Loiselle said.
Loiselle said the highlights of her golfing career happened when she was in ninth grade, then again two years later when she sunk hole-in-ones.
“I have two hole-in-ones. My first one, I was in ninth grade. It was a fluke, it should not have happened,” Loiselle said. “Two years later I was a junior at my home course and I was playing by myself. I had just stepped up with these gentlemen, I hit the ball and it had hit, like, two inches before the pin, [then] you could see the ball mark, then it rolled in.”
Loiselle said she is excited to get back out on the course and travel for games after not playing for a few seasons.
“We were supposed to travel this fall, but with COVID it was hard,” Loiselle said. “I am excited to see how far we have come this off