Growing together

Growth is the keyword for women’s golf Head Coach Risё Alexander and her group.

“It’s been quite a two and a half-three years of growth for us. We’re getting to the point where we’re seeing substantial growth. Our scoring average has gone down … and over the year it’s definitely fallen quite a bit,” Alexander said, referring to her team’s low scores.

The difference between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016 was a 20-stroke improvement, according to goUTRGV.com.

Those low scores were on display earlier in March when the women’s golf team hosted the UTRGV Invitational for a second straight season. Last year, UTRGV finished in seventh place, with a team three-round score of 967.

The top finishers last year–Geraldine Torrellas, Emma Mesta and Daniela Mendez–all tied for 19th with scores of 241.

The 2017 version of the same event, again at the McAllen Country Club, saw the team score drop to 941.

It’s difficult to compare scores from 12 months apart, with conditions playing a factor. However, 241 was the best score in 2016, and in 2017 six of the eight golfers reached 241 or shot lower.

Sharyland High School alum Michelle Moroles led the team. The sophomore tied for eighth place, her third-round 74 cemented her place among top-10 finishers.

Moroles, who finished with a 229, said doing well at a course she’s familiar with was a special experience. Despite a strong tournament, she also looked at getting even better.

“It was nice to have our home course, especially because I’m local. It was nice to have family out, it was nice energy, nice environment,” Moroles said. “I know I can have a lot more improvement. Everything’s about the process and trusting the process. Every tournament is an opportunity just to build off of it, you learn from it, your mistakes, what you can improve on in the next tournament.”

Women’s golf has three upperclassmen. Seniors Torrellas and Kasey Canales take the course for their final collegiate seasons. Jessica Young, a junior, rounds out the group.

The elder golfers, however, are outnumbered by youth. Five golfers are underclassmen, including a strong group of sophomores with Moroles, Mesta and Mendez.

“It bodes well for the program. You want to make sure you’re getting kids in that are committed and really love the game of golf, and these kids are,” Coach Alexander said after the UTRGV Invitational. “They’re young to golf and they really want to improve, very coachable.”

Another standout sophomore has been Indian national Shweta Mansingh. On the first day of late February’s Islander Classic, Mansingh set the program record with a five-under par 67. She led the tournament for two rounds before falling into a seventh-place finish.

“I guess the key thing is you don’t really try, it just happens. You stick to your process, you trust the process. As Coach says, play one shot at a time,” Mansingh said, switching gears to speak on adjusting to the game in America. “I believe golf is the same all over, but it’s the course and conditions and the pressure you play in. I think India is coming up with good standard golf courses, but they’re not that available. I’ve had a great team to adjust with. They’ve helped me out a lot and Coach has been great.”

Alexander, who is in her 27th year of coaching at the collegiate level, received the 2016 Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award. She said the team has what it takes to be great, but talent alone isn’t enough.

“The better you get, the harder it is to get better,” Alexander said. “I don’t like the word talented. They are talented but they have a lot of potential, they work very hard and they’re learning the game. They’re really young to golf, so it’s something that they got a lot more experiences to have.”

UTRGV has two more tournaments remaining before conference. Next up, they will be in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land March 27-28 to participate in the Houston Baptist University Husky Invitational.

The Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held April 19-21 in Mission Hills, Kan.