Women's Golf motivated as winter offseason looms
Oct. 31, 2012
Blake McAdow, Texas Media Relations After a sixth place finish against tough competition at its home tournament, the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, Texas Women’s Golf is heading into a three-and-a half month hiatus before play resumes in February. Following three competitive tournaments, the coaches and players are pleased with their performances, but know there is room for more. “I still saw a lot of really good things that our team is doing, and I think we just have to find a way to put together a whole tournament,” said head coach Martha Richards. “We really just need to find a way to be more consistent and play at a higher level.” At the Betsy Rawls in 2011, UT swept the medal stand, placing first as a team, and winning the top two individual spots. In their 2012 fall opener at the Mason Rudolph Championships, UT placed fourth out of 15 teams and took home a pair of top-10 individual finishes. At the Stanford Intercollegiate, the Longhorns finished 17th before closing out their fall schedule at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. While the Longhorns have put together great team and individual rounds at each tournament, they are still looking to close out tournaments with their best golf. “We had two good days at Vanderbilt, two solid days here, and one good day at Stanford. We really just need to find a way to be more consistent and play at a higher level,” said Richards. UT’s young competitors are stepping up. Freshmen Tezira Abe, Natalie Karcher and Taylor Kim have all had promising starts to their Longhorn careers.
A native of Switzerland, Karcher braved the first round cold temperatures at the Betsy Rawls, shooting an even-par 72, just four shots back of the leaders. “When you play in as much cold weather as I have, you know how to dress properly so that your clothing has as little effect on your swing as possible. In my experience, clothing and keeping your hands warm are the two most important things when playing in cooler temperatures,” said Karcher. In her first collegiate tournament at the Mason Rudolph, Abe held her own, finishing tied for 10th with fellow Longhorn and senior Desiree Dubreuil. Taylor Kim had her best tournament of her early career at the Betsy Rawls, finishing 35th. Heading into the offseason, UT is focusing on consistency, in addition to just relaxing and playing competitive golf. “Whether it’s playing basketball with putting trash in the trashcan fastest, or playing ping-pong, we need to be more competitive. I think we’re a little too content with making sure everything looks perfect instead of just getting the golf ball in the hole,” said Richards. “I love this group. They’re a great group of girls. Now, if we can just get them to be a little more consistent, then we’re going to be a really good team.” |
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