The Women’s golf team is set to play another year of conference championship. Head Coach Neil Self is aiming for team-highs after a season filled with individual performances.
The Atlantic Sun Conference championship will start on April 13 at Hampton Cove course in Huntsville.
The team’s last performance at the ASUN championship ended with a ninth place overall, with a 40-over-par totalizing 904 points. Now, senior Jahnavi Prakhya led in individual ranks with a score of 218 at ninth place.
The Hampton Cove course is not unknown to the Lions. The last time the women’s golf team played there, they achieved their best overall team score of the season. The team finished second with a 49-over-par 913 scorecard. All five UNA starters finished within the top half in individual ranks. Senior Hannah Dees and true freshman Olivia Whittle tied for sixth.
For an overview, the team has been collectively finishing in the top half for most of the season’s tournaments.
“That’s the way they should play. They worked really hard,” Self said.
Still, Self is a firm believer they can do more. While every tournament results in individual performances achieving career-highs, the coach sees a lack of consistency in those.
“We play good, we play bad, and there’s not much in between,” Self said. “We want team performances. That’s how we’re judged, and that’s what we’re after. Individual places are great, but [they’re] a consolation prize.”
The team is about to face a gap with the upcoming graduation of Prakhya and Hannah Dees. The pair has been playing a major role in increasing overall ranks throughout their four years as Lions. Self is focused on teaching and developing the majoritarily freshmen team to lead through their examples. So Spring tournaments have been filled with freshmen play.
“You keep an eye on the main goal, which is the results at hand,” Self said. “But then, beyond that, you look at what are you doing to develop these young players and get them more experience? And can you give them a taste of what a good leader looks like and how they’re gonna help the team next year?”
