[Lauren Shelburne | Banner] Tai Kuida, senior business administration major, practices his technique prior to the Otter Invitational, Oct. 17-18 in Seaside, California.
The men’s and women’s golf teams have made way in the start of their respective seasons, and the women’s team has already made its mark on the national scale.
Debuting at the No. 7 spot in the NCAA Division II ranking, the women’s team pushed its ranking to a top-10 finish after expecting to be somewhere in the top-25 spot after last season’s successful finish. The women have already taken this season by storm, placing second at the Western New Mexico Fall Intercollegiate Sept. 20 and taking the top spot at the Dixie State Invitational Oct. 4. The run continued onto the Dallas Baptist University Golf Classic, where they captured a fourth place finish.
Samantha Martirez, freshman psychology major, has already made an impact on her first collegiate season, earning a PacWest Golfer of the Week honor for her performance in the DBU Golf Classic. She helped the team capture its fourth place finish by shooting one-under-par 71 and finished with a six-over 222 total (71-80-71) for a ninth-place performance. The fall season will conclude at the Cal Poly Lady Mustang Oct. 22-23.
The men’s season, however, is not over just yet. The team, ranked at the No. 12 spot, has two invitationals remaining in the fall season. They earned top finishes in both invitationals. At the Western New Mexico Fall Intercollegiate Invitational the team finished in first place after shooting four-over-par 292 as a group in the final round of the invite. At the Wildcat Classic, the team finished in third place after a dominant third round.
TL Brown, head coach of the men’s team, said while he is proud, there is still room for improvement.
“I am proud of all five guys. Everyone responded the way I wanted today. It’s a good day for our program,” Brown said of the New Mexico Fall Invitational.
