University Star

Wednesday was the final day of the women’s golf Southland Conference tournament. Texas State grabbed second place behind UTSA, who won by only five strokes.

The girls performed strong in the second and third rounds but slipped up on the first. The team scored 301 in the first round to UTSA’s 290 and forced Texas State to play catch-up in the final two rounds.

“The first round really set us back,” said Krista Puisite, finance junior. She placed fourth overall.
Puisite’s best performance was in the first round with a score of 73, despite the round being the team’s worst.

Texas State was hosting the event and went into the tournament as the first seed.

“We were hosting and we were expected to win,” Coach Mike Akers said. “There was definitely a lot of pressure going in.”

Texas State actually beat UTSA in the second round, narrowing the gap to only two strokes with a score of 297 to UTSA’s 306.

“We tried to avoid bogeys,” Akers said. “It was just a few mistakes that really cost us in the end.”
In the final round, Texas State was unable to close the two-stroke gap and ended up losing to UTSA with a score of 303-300.

Gabrielle De Reuck, accounting senior, scored 74 for three consecutive rounds, Texas State’s best score and third overall in the tournament.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to close the wide gap created in the first round.

“I think it was all mental for me and the team,” Puisite said. “Maybe we were just too focused on winning and less on doing our best.”

The picture isn’t all that bleak for the team, however. They are still expected to receive an invitation to regionals, the details of which will be revealed later this month.

Akers said going into regionals, the girls should be rid of the types of pressures brought upon them at the SLC tournaments.

“We’ve actually had a great year with three victories which is the best in our history,” Akers said.
Akers said he anticipates a much stronger performance at regionals.