By: Greg Goldstein - Maryland Media Relations Student Intern
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The spring season for the University of Maryland women's golf team is set to start up again as the Terps head to Puerto Rico to take part in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. With a mix of lowerclassmen and upperclassmen there is a lot to look forward to as another season of golf gets underway.
The team is coming off a fall season that saw many great performances, especially from freshman Ludovica Farina. Even though last season was the first of her college career, Farina ended the season as the lowest scorer on the team averaging a round score of 75.12. The freshman was also the only golfer to finish three different rounds under-par for Maryland as well as shooting the team's lowest score in both the Pinehurst Challenge and the Palmaetto Intercollegiate.
Senior Heidi Baek finished the fall season with the second lowest average score for Maryland, ending the season with a 75.50 average round. Baek was also particularly impressive at the Pinehurst Challenge where she shot her lowest round of the season of an even-par 72.
In addition to Farina and Baek, head coach Diana Cantu is also particularly excited about the progression of junior Panitta Yusabai. Yusabai averaged a round score of 75.92 this past fall, which was the best of her career. However, Cantu thinks that the junior could improve even more in the spring.
“Panitta Yusabai has gotten a lot better this year,” said Cantu. “She's just getting closer to what her real game is. She is really starting to show her true potential. So I'm really excited to see how she plays . She played pretty decent in the fall, but she's got room for improvement, so I'm really excited to see what she can do.”
Yusabai herself is also expecting her game to improve greatly this upcoming season because of her ability to rebound from mistakes on the golf course, which is something that she has struggled with in the past.
“Coach (Cantu) has helped me a lot,” said Yusabai. “My swing has improved and the way that I think about golf is actually little bit different. I think that I've changed my mindset a little going into this season. In the past, I would hit bad shots and lose my confidence and I try to figure out why I hit a bad shot, but now I'm more relaxed and accept the bad shots.”
The team is also coming off a season where they shot the two lowest team rounds in two years at the Pinehurst Challenge. Cantu was very pleased with the squad's finish at Pinehurst, but expressed that the team is excited to improve after ending the season with a disappointing final tournament.
“In our fourth tournament I guess we kind of got a little bit sidetracked about what we are trying to achieve everyday. So I think everyone is just excited to come out on the golf course and show that we've improved and have a good result.”
Maryland is opening the year with a tough test as the Terps will be competing against some of the top women's golf programs in the nation.
“We're going to Puerto Rico this week and it's a really strong field,” said Cantu. “It's an exciting time but we are also going to be really tested. Everyone there is ranked ahead of us. It's going to show us what we are going to need to work on going into the Big Ten.”
As the Maryland women's golf team looks ahead toward this season, Cantu has also had the chance to look back and see how far the program has come in just the 1.5 years since she was named the head coach.
“Well we have achieved a lot in the darkness I would say. We are working very hard but it's not being shown just yet. We're almost ready to be in the spotlight in the coming years, but there has been a lot of improvements," Cantu said.
"We've got some really good freshmen. Our Panitta has gotten so much better; she's become a great leader on the golf course. We've gotten our tournament schedule a lot stronger, so that is really good in terms of just preparing us for when we are a top team. We're excited being in the Big Ten. We had a good showing last year at the Big Ten Tournament, so we're hoping to go there again and improve on that at the end of April.”
The Lady Puerto Rico Classic will take place at the River Course at Rio Del Mar Country Club on Saturday through Monday in a three round tournament that features 16 teams, which includes three top ten ranked programs in the country.
