It’s been a long offseason of waiting for Tarleton Women’s Golf. Mostly because they are ready to get back on the course and compete. The Texans were just starting to gain momentum after the final regular season tournament of the fall season.
The Texans closed out the fall with a tournament win for the ages, coming back from an 11-stroke deficit on the final day to capture the title at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate. It was a finishing touch for second-year head coach Isabel Jimenez’s group, whose team showed improvement after every tournament of the season.
“The girls really got better as the fall season went on and it showed with the work they continued to put in,” said Jimenez. “The way they closed out the fall and competed is how I want them to play all spring and I know they have the ability to do so each round.”
The Texans are carrying the same five-player roster into the spring, led by an all-conference duo in senior Casey Leatherman and junior Junie Khaw. The biggest surprise for Jimenez has been the consistent play from freshman Sofia Rodriguez, who won the individual title at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate after shooting a career-best 145 (+3). Between the three, they have 11 top-20 finishes and five top-10 finishes in just four tournaments.
“Casey is one of our seniors and is very consistent, despite playing through an injury for part of the fall season. She really battled out there and has the ability to go out and take over any tournament under any circumstances,” added Jimenez. “Junie and Sofia had the lowest scoring averages for us in the fall and they both took big strides that can carry over into the spring and lead us in postseason play. I look forward to a big spring from both players.”
Sophomore Sophie Caldon and senior Brenna Smith round out the roster and have the experience and talent to climb up the leaderboards this season.
“Sophie battled an injury in the fall right when she was starting to play well,” Jimenez said. “Now that she’s healthy, I know she’s going to make a big impact on the team.”
“I’m really excited to see Breanna compete in her last season at Tarleton. I’ve seen how hard she’s been working and she’s playing extremely well this break and I know she’s going to end her playing career strong.”
Tarleton opened the 2019-20 season at the Texan Invitational, struggling to a seventh-place finish back in September. They followed with a fifth and fourth-place finish at the RJGA Women’s Shootout and the UCO Classic, respectively. Each tournament was a better finish leading up to the win in Oklahoma.
Now the balanced roster has a win under their belt and can build off that momentum in the spring season as they set their sights to Austin for the St. Edward’s Invitational on Feb. 24-25 at the Onion Creek Country Club.
The Texans will play four regular season tournaments this spring, including at St. Edward’s. They’ll follow with the CSU San Marcos Fujikura Invitational in Vista, California on March 9-10, then stay in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at the Texas A&M-Commerce Lion Invitational on March 23-24 in Trophy Club. The final tournament is in Fort Smith, Arkansas at the Hardscrabble Classic from April 6-7.
The Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament has a new hosting site this season as the league tournament takes place at the Texas Rangers Golf Course in Arlington from April 21-23.
This is Tarleton’s final season in the Lone Star Conference before joining the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) next year as a member of NCAA Division I.
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