‘All systems are go’

Women’s golf prepares ahead of Southland Conference Championship

The UTRGV Women’s Golf Team will head to Aggieland, Bryan, Texas, to participate in the “Mo” Morial Invitational today and Tuesday ahead of the Southland Conference Championships April 14.

The invitational will take place at The Traditions Club at Texas A&M. 

During Spring Break, head coach Bryan Novoa took the team players to the course on a bonding trip, where they played all 18 holes at the course and found out the organizers rerouted some of the holes ahead of the tournament.

“I take big pride in having answers and having solutions before we set foot on a property,” Novoa said. “And I think having played 18 holes already there put us in a really good spot.”

The head coach told The Rider that while they dealt with injury issues earlier, their scores dropped as they got healthier, adding the team has “matured” throughout the season.

“The last three events, our scores have dropped dramatically by 10 to 12 shots per round average,” he said. “Man, I’m excited about the next two weeks. … [The team is] in a place where all systems are go and all systems are firing.”

Among the teams the Vaqueros will face in Bryan include the hometown Aggies, the Texas State University Bobcats, and conference rivals in the Houston Christian University Huskies and the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks.

The slate gives UTRGV a unique opportunity to not only face top-tier competition but also opponents in their conference ahead of the Southland Championships. 

Knowing this, the team is entering with a chip on their shoulder, continuing to play their game against what Novoa said is a “really strong field” with several top 25 programs.

“You know, you want to beat the Aggies,” he said. “Of course, it’s going to be very challenging on their home course. We’re going to embrace the challenge. The golf courses [do not] know what school you play for or the golf ball doesn’t know who you are. Any opportunity you have to play against the best, you show up.”

Following the tournament in Bryan, the team will begin preparations for the Southland tournament, which will be played at the Kissing Tree Golf Course in San Marcos. 

Freshman Kielie Saenz and junior Jackie Gonzalez said they are looking forward to the conference tournament and feel great about how their schedule and preparations will help them.

“We’ve played some really good tournaments this year with challenging courses,” Saenz said. “I think that’s gotten us ready for conference. And, with practice and everything, we’ve gotten really prepared.”

A typical preparation for a tournament includes meeting ahead to discuss the course, looking at the yardage and practicing with the specific clubs the team will need for each hole.

“I think that we have had a really good schedule so far,” Gonzalez said. “The lineup right now is pretty strong and there’s a lot of preparation going on behind [the scenes] that’s helped our performance.”