Students haven’t had the chance to see much of the LSU men’s and women’s golf teams.The Tigers haven’t played at home this season, and the Lady Tigers have only hosted one Baton Rouge tournament.But they’ve taken care of business on the road. The Lady Tigers and Tigers are currently ranked No. 8 and No. 18 in the nation, respectively. LSU men’s coach Chuck Winstead said the Tiger golfers have been on the rise since being ranked in the mid-80s nationally just a few years ago.”If someone asks me am I pleased with being ranked somewhere in the top 25, the answer would be no. I want to be ranked No. 1,” he said. “But that being said, from where we were a little over three years ago, certainly I think steps are being taken to right the ship and give LSU a program I feel LSU deserves.”The Tigers have earned their success despite having a relatively young roster. “We’ve got essentially a very young team,” Winstead said. “We’ve played mostly freshmen and sophomores in a league that is very deep and very talented. I think we’ve faired pretty well across the board.”The Lady Tigers have also grown into a mature and talented team despite their youth.”We have a relatively young team,” said LSU women’s coach Karen Bahnsen. “We have one senior, and all the rest are freshmen and sophomores. I feel like as the year’s gone on we’ve learned a lot.”Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers boast underclassmen who received all-conference honors.Sophomore John Peterson gained a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.”Certainly John is someone that if you look at just scoring average alone, you can tell he’s worked hard,” Winstead said. “I feel like his talent is starting to be shown.”Peterson has finished in third place in each of the Tigers’ last three tournaments.Freshman Sang Yi is a member of the All-SEC Freshman Team despite missing one of the tournaments to obtain his visa.”Sang’s a young man who came to us in the first year, and I feel like he’s had the mindset and the maturity level to be successful in his first year in college,” Winstead said. “He’s got a great work ethic, but that work ethic combined with his level of maturity … is the reason why he’s successful this early.”The Lady Tigers received individual accolades of their own.Sophomore Megan McChrystal was a first-team All-SEC selection after her two tournament wins, and she is on pace to set a school record for lowest stroke average in a single season (currently 72.5).Freshmen Jacqueline Hedwall and Tessa Teachman were named members of the SEC women’s All-Freshmen team.”We’ve put ourselves in position to get better and better every single year,” Bahnsen said.Both teams won tournaments before the SEC Championships on April 17-19, where the Tigers finished fourth and the Lady Tigers finished fifth.The men and women’s tournament wins have been scattered throughout the season. The men’s three tournament wins came in September, February and April, and the women’s two wins came in October and April.”I can honestly tell you that all nine of the guys that have been playing are improving and have gotten better from the beginning of the year,” Winstead said.The women’s NCAA Regional is May 7-9, followed by the women’s NCAA Championships May 19-22. The men’s NCAA Regional is May 14-16, followed by the men’s NCAA Championships May 27-30.——Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]