COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Following a solid start to the 2016-17 season, the Maryland women's golf team hopes to pick up right where they left off.
The team returns to tournament play February 12-14 at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan, Puerto Rico hosted by Purdue University. It's the first event for Maryland since the Terrapins placed seventh at the Pinehurst Challenge in late October.
The Terrapins will be competing against six teams in the top-25 of the NCAA in sixth-ranked Georgia, No. 7 Furman, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 13 Purdue, No. 15 Kent State and No. 23 Baylor in addition to several other unranked teams.
“It's a really strong event but it's a great opportunity for us to go out there to do well and beat some great teams,” head coach Diana Cantu said.
Despite the stacked field, Cantu and her team aren't worrying about the tough competition they'll be facing.
“I think something important that we did this fall was focusing on our games and doing the best we can, being the best version of ourselves and at the end of the day see we'll see where that puts us on the leaderboard,” Cantu said. “It's great to do that with a young team, it takes the pressure off of them when they're seeing their improvement and not focused on trying to beat other people.”
The team finished the 2016 fall season with three top-10 finishes in five events. Cantu's lineup consisted of freshman Xiaolin Tian, sophomores Ludovica Farina and Ludovica Scandroglio, and seniors Lauren Salazar and Panitta Yusabai. While the entire team is outperforming expectations, Tian has really stood out as the star this season.
“She has made a huge impact on our year so far. She's a great player, very mature on the course, and she's done a great job making an impact on the team and taking us further than we thought we could go this year. It has been a lot of fun watching her play,” Cantu said. “She's ranked second in the Big Ten Conference as a freshman, so she'll be trying to do her best to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.”
Tian, who was born in China but lived in Italy most of her life, finished tied for fifth in an 80-player field for her collegiate debut. She has continued to impress since then, leading the Terps in two more events while leading the team on the season with the lowest scoring average.
Another player to watch for is Farina. She has the second lowest scoring average on the team and Cantu considers her a real threat on the course. Farina, who has shot in the top 40 in four tournaments this season, has high hopes for the spring.
“Having new freshmen and better team bonding gives us a better chance at getting to regionals and even the bigger target, for this team to get to nationals,” Farina said. “We're getting there, step by step, tournament by tournament, trying to do everything better. We did great in the fall and we hope to do better in the spring.”
The team has made great strides since last season, Cantu attributes that to the fact that her players have improved and gained confidence on the course, not to mention the addition of depth in the lineup.
“Our kids, due to the improvement and their confidence, are really starting to believe that we can make it to the NCAA tournament. I think it's really important for us to take it one day at a time and do our best every day and every tournament in order for us to make it,” Cantu said. “We're looking forward to keeping at it and moving up.”
The Terrapins will play in five regular season tournaments before shooting for the Big Ten Championship in Maineville, Ohio April 21-23 and NCAA postseason play starting May 8.
2017 Maryland Women's Golf Spring Schedule
Feb 12-14 Lady Puerto Rico Classic at San Juan, PR
Feb 20-21 Central District Invitational at Port St. Lucie, FL
Mar 11-12 SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational at Gainesville, FL
Mar 27-28 Henssler Financial Intercollegiate at Kennesaw, GA
Apr 10-11 Brickyard Collegiate at Macon, GA
Apr 21-23 Big Ten Championship Maineville, Ohio
