After winning the Sun Belt Conference Championship in the 2023-24 season, the Texas State women’s golf team has its sights on a repeat of last season’s success.
Beyond winning the Sun Belt last season, the Bobcats had a high ranking and saw players become individual and stroke-play winners.
Before the season began, the Bobcats lost four golfers–– three to graduation and one to the transfer portal.
“[Winning the Sun Belt] is going to be tough, especially with the younger team, but that’s definitely the goal still,” Head Coach Par Nilsson said. “It’s more about how we finish than how we start.”
This season, Texas State signed freshmen Allie Justiz and Ella Salama, who made their collegiate debuts at the McGuire Invitational.
“I have been waiting for that moment for a long time,” Salama said. “It was different [than what I’m used to] because when you play a normal golf tournament, you’re playing just for yourself, and now we played for the team. It was fun to play for the team because you felt like you’re not alone and there’s bigger things to achieve than just your own score.”
For the rest of her freshman collegiate season, Salama said she aims to lower her scoring average, improve her mindset and have fun.
“I just hope that I can improve mentally because I feel like it’s the part of my game that needs improvement,” Salama said. “You’re a freshman only once, so [I want to] make the most out of this whole year.”
With such a young team, senior Mattingly Palmer said she’s noticed a different atmosphere among the team.
“Last year we had a really successful year, and it was challenging because it’s awesome to have a good team, [but] it makes it harder to play,” Palmer said. “So, it’s hard mentally if you don’t make a tournament or don’t get to travel.”
After its first tournament of the season, Texas State began working together to improve its putting. Palmer said she believes working together as a team will strengthen the Bobcats’ bond and positively impact Texas State’s overall performance throughout the season.
“I think just working together as a team to build upon what we each individually need to improve [is important],” Palmer said. “Right now, that’s putting, so [we’re] working together as a team to get those stats better, and [we will] bond and build our team chemistry going through the year.”
Going into their second tournament of the season, the Bobcats are looking to improve as a team.
“Obviously, the results are important, but I think it’s even more important that they keep learning on a little bit more of a long-term basis to get ready for the spring and postseason golf,” Nilsson said.
