With one week of classes under their belt, USAO’s women’s golf team was ready to face their first tournament of the season. The Texas Intercollegiate tournament was hosted at Hawks Creek Golf Club (par 72, 6898 yards) in Westworth Village, TX. It started Monday, Sept. 11 and finished Tuesday, Sept. 12. The Drovers challenged eight other teams and placed 4th after three rounds of play.
The team was comprised of eight players; Five player’s scores went towards the team score while the remaining three played as individuals. Emma Fields, Woloss, Alix Schueneman, Moriah Shropshire, and Emilee Slovak contributed to the team’s score.
Head coach Steve Holden set two goals for the women’s first tournament: 1) place ahead of closely matched University of Houston Victoria (UHV), who placed 5th in the tournament, and 2) attain a team stroke average of 328 – which would be a 21-shot improvement from last year, according to Holden.
“We shot 320, 324, and 324 for the three rounds. Thus, achieving both goals in the first tournament,” Holden said. “We realize that it’s a constant battle to keep improving, but I think we’ve got a great start on it already.”
Fields and Woloss tied for the team’s best score. Fields’ first round, and best score for the team, was 76 (+4). Her other rounds included scores of 81 (+9) and 81 (+9). Woloss found her 238 (+22) overall score with scores of 84 (+12), 77 (+5), and 77 (+5).
Schueneman followed closely with scores of 81 (+9), 81 (+9), and 84 (+12). Shropshire contributed her three scores to the team, with rounds of 79 (+7), 85 (+13), and 82 (+10). Finally, Slovak shot 85 (+13), 88 (+16), and 93 (+21).
“I think we can just be prepared this next tournament in Kansas to look a little different by the environmental changes such as grass, conditions, etc. But still have a positive attitude and an open mindset,” Woloss said.
USAO’s three individuals, who’s scores did not contribute to the team score, included Addysyn Asmus, Addesen Glass, and Kiera Stehr.
Asmus earned the lowest score of USAO’s individuals, with rounds of 88 (+16), 82 (+10), and 80 (+8). Glass followed nine strokes behind her, with rounds of 89 (+17), 81 (+9), and 89 (+17). Finally, Stehr shot 92 (+20), 89 (+17), and 98 (+26).
Holden, who returned to USAO to coach the women’s golf program, has made a positive difference among his players.
“I think Steve has brought a positivity and a new aspect to our golf team. As a team we have gotten along together so well with Steve being in the mix of everything. He has just brought us so much closer together and it seems like a real team this year because of him,” Hudson Woloss, a sophomore player, said.
The Drovers will travel to their second tournament, the Crestview Fall Invitational, at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, KS Monday, on Sept. 18 and Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Emily Loughridge is a third-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
