Lady Buffs all “fore” teamwork

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Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Jameson

The Lady Buffs placed first in the WTAMU Lady Buff Invitational in Amarillo, Texas.

Alyssa Gonzales, Former Editor-in-Chief

  The No. 5 ranked Lady Buffs golf team have started the season strong with a number of both team and individual successes. The team has placed in the top three in every tournament they have participated in so far and many of the players have performed impressively throughout the season.

  “The girls have very effective, efficient practices. We have a team culture that allows them to work on specific things individually to keep progressing and improving each week,” said Meredith Jameson, head coach of the Lady Buff golf team. 

  The Lady Buffs opened their season in Salinas, California where they placed first at the Cal State University-Monterey Bay Lady Otter Invitational. The team also placed third at their first medal match at the Dallas Baptist Medal Match Play Event in Grand Prairie, Texas. 

  “We got some good one on one against some top 20 teams there [Dallas] for our ranking,” Jelina Fernando, junior said. 

  The players credit much of their success to the closeness of the team and the support from both the their fellow teammates and the coaching staff. 

 “We spend a lot of time with each other and we want each other to succeed,” Fernando said. “When you know your teammates have your best interests, you want to go out there and perform your best for them.”

 Being a student athlete comes with many responsibilities on and off the course. Along being part of the team, players must also dedicate their time to classes and school work. 

 “We’re one of the only sports that play in the fall and the spring. We travel for a least 3 days so we miss a lot of monday and tuesday school,” said Fernando. “As a student athlete you just become really good at time management and you know that if you have work to do when you’re away, you’ve got to get it done.”

  Both Fernando and Loukyee Songprasert spoke of the importance of being on the team and the close friendships that they have formed while being a part of it.  

 “We look out for each other…communication is really important. We just make sure that everyone is ok in golf, in school, and in life,” said junior Songprasert. 

  The Lady Buffs  hosted and competed at the WTAMU Lady Buffs Invitational on October 1-2. The Lady Buffs placed first at their home tournament at the Tascosa Golf Club La Paloma Course in Amarillo, Texas. Songsprasert won her first individual title at the tournament and was named the LSC’s Women’s Golfer of the week for the second time this season. 

 “It’s just great to be able to be here, it’s not as hard on the girls with travel, they don’t miss quite as much class. Plus, there’s just such an advantage to being on your home course and knowing the greens,” coach Jameson, said.