After a 10th place finish at Wolf Run last weekend, the Miami University golf team is refocused and ready to get back on track.

Head Coach Zac Zedrick has implemented a few new ideas to kick start the team’s success – especially in the mental aspect of the game.

“The energy was good at practice,” Zedrick said. “We’ve got to move past a poor finish quickly, and we’ve done that. We actually had a meeting Tuesday evening with Dr. Jim Schlager – it’s a way as a team to help as far as the mental approach goes. It’s hard to describe, but a really good thing, and it’s something we’re going to be doing within a couple days of getting back from a tournament.”

Newfound practice intensity is something the second year head coach would like to implement this year as well. And though the team only has two official days of practice this week, it appears to be paying off already.

“We’ve still got some individual work to do ... but a lot of it is how you challenge yourself in practice,” Zedrick said. “We recognize that there’s different ways to work on that. We did more of that Tuesday and we’ll see more of it as the week progresses.”

New weekly review sessions and practice intensity aren’t the only things changing around the locker room. Two RedHawks will be making their collegiate debut this week, as freshmen Jack Sparling and Daniel Schwarz have been added to this week’s starting lineup. Expectations are high, but senior leader Ben Peacock said they are up to the task.

“Those guys have been doing all the right things at home,” Peacock said. “They have really been working hard from day one and playing some good golf. We’re excited for them to debut their college [careers] this weekend and I know they’re both excited and are going to have a good week.”

Zedrick said though they may be young, they will have plenty of help from the older guys on the course.

“It’s a good situation because Jack is in Mark [MacDonald’s] mentor group and Daniel is in Ben’s mentor group, so there’s already an inherent connection,” Zedrick said. “We talked about it as a team that at the end of the day it’s just golf. You don’t have to do something different or be someone you’re not. If you treat it in that way and go out and compete like they have hundreds of times and keep that in the back of their mind, they’ll be fine.”

Even with two fresh faces on the course, confidence among the Red and White is high and memories are short.

“We didn’t do what we wanted to do last week but there’s been a lot of positives,” Peacock said. “Everyone knows we’re capable of going out and winning a golf tournament and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Zedrick said sometimes having less time to prepare can be a good thing when trying to right the ship.

“Wolf Run is behind us and everyone’s looking forward and focused to doing everything they need to do from a preparation standpoint to be ready to go,” Zedrick said. “It’s an opportunity how immediate this tournament is to bounce back. We’re optimistic and fortunate to be back at it as soon as we can.”

Miami opens the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate in Bloomington, Ill. with 36 holes Saturday.