Men and women’s golf compete in New Mexico

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The University of Dallas women’s golf team kicked off their first tournament of the season at the Lady Bulldog Fall Classic in Seguin, TX. Women’s golf returns to UD for the first time since 2015 with freshmen trio Emma Christensen, Claire Kirby, and Kaylei Richardson alongside returning sophomore Tiffany Han.

“It’s nice to finally have other girls on the team golfing along with me,” said Han. Han had competed as an individual last year for UD women’s golf. “I’m super glad I am able to play with individuals who love golf as much as I do.” 

Men’s and women’s golf head coach Garrett Smith is optimistic about the women’s team this year. Smith has been trying to get a women’s golf team started for UD since he became head coach in March, 2016. Last year, Smith was named head coach of the year at SCAC.

Smith is determined to create a strong foundation for the golf teams. Megan Thothong, who is currently pursuing her MBA at the Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, coaches this year’s women’s team alongside head coach Smith as the assistant coach. Having competed for the NCAA Division I women’s golf team at the University of Houston, Thothong continues to pursue her love for golf by coaching at UD. 

The women’s golf team just finished their second tournament at Hobbs, N.M., in the Rockwind Links Invitational, and the girls are determined to play better in future tournaments.

With winds blowing up to 20 miles per hour, the girls struggled to adjust their swings accordingly. 

“The wind was just very unpredictable,” said Christensen. “You could be aiming straight into the fairway and have your ball land in the fairway of a totally different hole.” 

New Mexico was a different kind of challenge for the girls. Having recently adjusted their swings and working on their short game in the practices leading up to the tournament, the girls were not expecting this kind of challenge. 

“I think we all went into our first round pretty nervous,” said Christensen. “However, we managed to finish strong.” 

Christensen carded a 106 on the first day and a 104 on the second day for a total of 210. Han improved 17 strokes from Monday’s round, where she shot a 119, with a 102 on Tuesday. Kirby carded a 197, while Richardson led the Crusaders with a 189, according to UD athletics

With two more golf tournaments to go in the fall season, the girls continue to practice at Luna Vista Golf Course and Prestonwood Country Club to prepare for their next tournament at Glen Rose, Texas.

Competing in their second tournament of the season, the men’s golf team headed to New Mexico for their first round of the Rockwind Links Intercollegiate on Sunday, Sept. 22. Junior Robby Evans shot a 71 to tie for second in the individual standings after the first round. Evans matched the top par 3 scoring a 2.80 with three other golfers. His four birdies were tied for third, according to UD athletics.

Freshman Jacob Trevino made his collegiate debut with a 79 to tie Senior Jacob Wade. Senior Erik Hamm added a 77.

After the first round, the Crusaders placed fourth with a 306 team total. UD improved their team score on Monday in the second round with an overall score of 301. With a 603 overall score, UD placed fifth out of eight teams. 

Evans led the Crusaders with a 76 his second day, totaling a 147 tie for fourth place. Hamm carded the best score for the team with a 74 on day two to improve his total to 151 and tied for 12th. Wade hit a 75 in the round to improve four strokes. He tied 19th to give UD a trio of scores in the first 20 spots.Trevino improved with a 76 in the second round and 155 overall. Additionally, Freshman James Trachsel also made his collegiate debut as an individual with a 159.

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