The women’s golf team’s extraordinary performance at Hoover Invitational finished 31-over-par, 300-294-301 895, and brought home fifth place within 14 schools on Sep. 16 and 17.
UNA came from the season-opener hosted by Clemson University on Aug. 26. Playing 16 teams and 96 student-athletes, the Lions finished eighth with Prakhya leading the team with an even-par 144 and overall ninth place.
This was the third time the Lions played at the Birmingham area three-round tournament. In 2022, the Lions finished seventh of 10 schools, and in 2023, sixth of nine.
Seniors Jahnavi Prakhya and Hannah Dees have been present since UNA’s first time in Hoover. In 2023, Prakhya finished eighth overall, and Dees tied for 21st. This year, the returners took the first and second holes, respectively.
The line-up was completed by freshman Sirichaya Chanpe, sophomore transfer Gracee Prince and redshirt sophomore Kerigan Klauber taking up spots three, four and five.
The tournament followed 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday scheme. The Lions finished with four players in the top 30, all in the top 40.
Klauber kicked off her individual season with distinction, leading the team with a +8 three-round score and finishing the overall 23rd place, including a birdie in the second round. Prakhya followed second at UNA’s scoreboard at 25th place overall with all on double and two triple bogeys, respectively. Dees came just beneath the fellow senior at 9-over-par, shooting for a higher spot in the third round with a +1 in the final round.
Head coach Neil Self said he is proud to see who Prakhya and Dees have become as golf players and leaders, “They represent us well and they’re part of laying a foundation for the newcomers.”
On the 29th was Prince, who started with an even-par and finished with a +10 three-round score. Chanpen tied at 40th with final rounds of 2-over-par and 4-over-par.
The team’s preparation’s proven success and constant upward trends assured Coach Self that the team was ready to shoot higher.
He said, “The talent level is probably the highest we’ve ever had. In golf, there are no guarantees, you gotta go and prove it. They did.”
Coach Self shares a deep bond with the Lion community and area. From being a student at Kilby to accompanying his grandfather, the late UNA football head coach and athletics director Hal Self, in practices and adventures. The coach reminisced when his parents or grandfather would take him to the Field House and Flowers Hall, and how they would go swimming every Friday at Kilby.
“Little memories like that really get me. I’ve spent so much time here, they just pop up and catch me sometimes so I can reminisce. It’s just really cool to have that,” said the head coach.
University of Alabama quarterback star and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee Hal Self is one of the greatest reasons why his grandson became a coach.
Neil Self explained it was a family matter. Understanding the impact of his own within the UNA athletics department and community, the head coach gladly took the opportunity to build something new, as Hal did.
Even after Hal Self’s passing in June of 2008, the Self family kept regulars at the campus.
As Neil Self said, “My grandmother too, the university meant so much to her. Even after my grandad passed away… I mean, she was 90 years old, and I’m pretty sure she was at every basketball game.”
Self is responsible for working directly with the inception of the women’s golf team in 2018. He has been coaching and recruiting every roster the team had ever since.
He said, “To be there from the start is just a really cool thing. The first year was difficult because of the timing. We didn’t have that long to build a team. Usually, you build a team a couple of years out but we were building the year of.”
The head coach and creator were looking for athletes with a passion for the game and for being members of a team, who had great work ethics, toughness, and ambition. With instruction and talent becoming better every year, Coach Self traced a new challenge for the 2024 season.
“This is more of a mental test now. Can we bring the consistent effort to practice? Can we bring strength when we find adversity on the golf course? This year is about being as tough mentally as we can be,” said the head coach.
Self deeply believes in his group of student-athletes, having his pre-season predictions coming true with each tournament.
He said, “I knew it by the way we started the season and by watching them play. I know that if we carry that to the tournaments we’re gonna do some great things. We’re gonna climb the ranks and be the highest-ranked team we’ve ever seen in this program. It solidifies the promise I see in them.”
The women’s tennis team proceeded to face a new challenge in Jacksonville on the 23rd. The tournament was a match-play event, where instead of the teams’ total scores being summarized into the ranks, whoever wins the most holes wins the match.
Coach Self claimed to be excited about it and wished more tournaments assumed this format.
He had said, “In match play, you’re playing against a player from another team head-to-head. I am interested in seeing how this affects our mindset and our competitiveness. I think it will bring it out even more. It’s a really fun format.”
