North Texas Daily

In the best team finish in over three years, the North Texas women’s golf team placed third at the Little Rock Women’s Golf Challenge on Tuesday.

The Mean Green finished seven strokes behind the tournament-winner, University of Central Arkansas, due in large part to a hot start.

“Obviously we were right up there in the standings and that gave them confidence,” head coach Michael Akers said. “We were in a position to win the tournament. [We] didn’t quite get it done but we’re still happy with the third place finish.”

North Texas has struggled in the past with slow starts and has been forced to fight their way back into contention.

Bur after posting a first round 299 on Sunday, the team began the tournament in fourth place.

Akers said the third place finish was a team-wide effort, with four golfers finishing in the top-25 individually and all five contributing to the finish.

Sophomore Sol Lee’s ninth place finish led the Mean Green and was the best individual tournament finish of the fall. Senior Eji Kwon finished in a tie for 18th place, junior Nyca Khaw finished in a tie for 20th and freshman Elena Kim finished in a tie for 23rd.

But the team’s best tally of the tournament, a 298, was aided by the second round bounce back of freshman Lauren Cox.

Cox made up eight strokes off her first round 83 and posted a 75, which vaulted the team into third place. Cox continued her strong play down the stretch, posting a four-over 76 to close out the tournament tied for 48th place.  

Akers, though disappointed they weren’t able to pull of the victory, was proud of how the team battled.

“We talked a lot about not giving up,” Akers said. “Even though you’re struggling you just have to keep going. You never know when you’re going to get that birdie that’ll lead to another birdie. They really fought, which is what we want to see. I’m just proud of all of them.”

The Little Rock Women’s Golf Challenge concludes the Mean Green’s fall schedule. Akers said the performance is further evidence of the team’s commitment to the process of competing on a regular basis.

“They’ve really bought in and I’m really excited about that,” Akers said. “I didn’t know how they would react to change. But they’ve been open minded and now they can see improvement. That just helps for everyone to continue to buy into what we’re doing and see what we’re working on works. But we’re not content—we’re striving to be on top of the C-USA.”

North Texas will resume their quest for conference supremacy February 13 and 14 at the All There August tournament in New Braunfels, Texas.

Featured Image: Senior Eji Kwon tees off on the last hole at Denton Country Club. Jake King