North Texas Daily

Women’s golf traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to finish its fall slate of tournaments at Texas Christian University’s Battle at the Beach tournament. 

The Mean Green placed 10th out of 17 teams in the tournament, which featured 10 top 50 teams and several nationally ranked players. Head coach Michael Akers said the tournament showed the team the potential they have to compete with top schools.

“The competition was extremely good, and it was very enlightening for me to watch our players versus their players and see how good we are,” Akers said. “On the outside, you would think that we are a better team just by watching them play — but some of those little details, they did a little bit better and they beat us by a few shots.”

Graduate Audrey Tan tied for ninth on the individual leaderboard. Tan, along with graduate Patricia Sinolungan, who took 50th place, flew to the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Thailand the following day. 

Senior Emilie Ricaud had the second-best showing for the Mean Green at the tournament, tying for 29th at four-over par.

“This was my first time going to Mexico, and for me it is always good to be next to the sea because I am from an island, so I was calm and just knew it was going to be a good tournament,” Ricaud said. “I made a few mistakes that cost me a lot, but I also had some really good rounds and had two eagles.”

Sinolungan, along with sophomore Sakura Sugiyama and junior Shreya Pal, shot an even 71 twice to help the Mean Green to a one-over-par final round, which was their best round of the tournament.

“I did not play too well on the first day but the team helped me not get down on myself and keep pushing, and on the second and third days, I was able to get back, fix my mistakes and finish strong,” Sugiyama said. “We played good schools, and the team did all right — I think we could have done better, but it is just learning.”

The team has not traveled internationally for five years and the athletes said they found the trip brought them closer as a team. Trips to the beach, staying in a house together, grocery shopping and cooking all made for a memorable trip outside of the competition. 

“We are a very diverse team,” Sugiyama said. “We have five internationals and four from [the United States], and we all get along really well. No matter who is on the team, we are always supporting each other.”

Akers echoed the idea that bonding as a team has its benefits, even for a sport that is not typically thought of as team-oriented. 

“Some people think golf is just an individual sport,” Akers said. “But if you’re having fun and you’re relaxed and you’re comfortable, you’re gonna play better golf. They definitely bonded, and they will always remember that time with their teammates.”

The team will compete in seven more tournaments in the spring, including the Conference USA Championship. Akers said he is hopeful the team will take the time off to rest, see their loved ones and come back hungry to get back to the tee box. 

“I’m really happy with where we stand right now,” Akers said. “Looking at the rankings, we’re number one in the conference by a long way, but that’s not our goal. We’re still trying to beat Baylor, we’re trying to beat [the University of Texas]. We have some really good competition in the spring again, and my goal is to get ranked in the top 30, which is very doable.”

Image Source: Adam Boedeker