The women’s golf team has already broken two school records this season, according to Oxy Athletics. Samantha Rocha (senior) said that at the dual match versus Loyola Marymount University, the women’s team beat their all-time record for the lowest scoring game, with a total score of 313 between the four players Sept. 9. Then, they played in the California State Intercollegiate, breaking the record once again by two strokes, with a total score of 311 Sept. 18.
At the California State Intercollegiate competition in Ventura, all four players each scored below 80 for the first time in the team’s history. Samantha Rocha shot 76, Brianna Kim (first year) shot 77, and Anna Lundquist (sophomore) and Katy Uchiyama (senior) both shot 79.
According to coach William Morris, the team has great potential to continue this pattern of low scores through the rest of the season. The women’s team is ranked 34th in the nation in addition to being ranked 5th in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), indicating the high level of competition the team faces. Last year, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won the national championship.
“I want their expectation to change because we have reached a new level of play,” Morris said. “It should not be surprising for how we have played that we can keep going a little more. It comes down to consistency — golf is a game that does not lend itself to consistency.”
According to Morris, golf is an extremely difficult game, as it revolves around constantly receiving low scores, and it is hard to maintain this level of consistent play for the entirety of the season.
Morris credits the team’s success to their hard work, dedication and team chemistry. There are eight women on the team, but three are abroad this semester, but will be back to play in the spring. Because the team is so small, they have been able to bond so closely throughout the semester. Morris believes the community and support provided by the close-knit team has allowed the women to play some of the best golf of their lives. Brianna Kim feels her game is improved by the support of her teammates.
“Golf is unique in that it’s a really mental, individual sport,” Kim said. “So a lot of the pressure is usually coming from yourself. However, as a team, I feel like there’s more encouragement among players and a genuine expectation that everyone else on the team plays well.”
According to Rocha, the upperclassmen on the team worked hard to help all of the players bond.
“Katy Uchiyama and I are co-captains, and we took the first year, Brianna Kim, under our wing,” Rocha said. “She started her college golf career very well — better than any of us have when we started off.”
According to Morris, the women’s golf team has a split season, playing from the beginning of September until around fall break, and then playing the entire spring semester.
“Our fall season showed us what we are capable of, and it is making us all very excited for the spring season, which is our main competitive season,” Rocha said.
According to Morris, many students do not realize how large a time commitment the sport of golf is, and how many hours each player puts in each week. The team cannot practice or compete on campus, so in addition to practice time, they have to put time into commuting throughout Los Angeles.
The team is looking forward to hosting the conference championship match in the middle of April.
“Although fall season is over, we got off to a great start, and I am hoping we can keep the momentum going and do even better in the spring,” Kim said. “It is going to be tough balancing schoolwork with the longer season, but I am just really excited to watch myself and my teammates improve.”
