May 4, 2015
Brandon Applehans
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After a last place finish at the NCAA Regional Spring Preview April 6-7, the Mountain Lions took to the course for the Colorado Mesa Invitational April 13-14, in hopes of putting together a late run in the season.
On the first day, sophomore Raquell Castillo shot an 82, recording her lowest score of the spring season. UCCS finished sixth after day one. On day two, the Mountain Lions hoped to climb to a top-five finish. They finished sixth overall and sophomore Forre Zook led the way in the final day with a 79.
The Mountain Lions went on to finish seventh out of 12 teams at the RMAC Championships April 20-21, concluding their second season as a team.
Zook said the season was a struggle.
“I don’t feel like we as a team met our goals this season,” she said. “We have a lot of talent and great players on our team and unfortunately that wasn’t always reflected at tournaments.”
“Overall, this season was pretty rocky,” she added. “We had some ups and downs as a team but I definitely feel like we ended the year on a good note and I’m looking forward to next season.”
Head coach Sadie Farnsworth believes players emerged as potential threats for next season.
“Every golfer on our team made some improvements,” said Farnsworth. “Alex Darwin had a great season as a freshman and really grew as an example for the team. [Sophomore] Amanda Crites really grew as a competitor throughout the season and played well at the RMAC Championships.”
But Farnsworth did say that the team did not meet the intended goals of this season.
“Again, the expectations were set very high, as I still believe this team will meet those,” she said.
“This season was a learning experience for our team,” said Farnsworth. “They are understanding strengths and weaknesses and they know what they need to work on to be a successful collegiate golfer.”
Zook is starting to analyze the hardships of the season in order to become a better golfer over the summer.
“I think the main way we’re moving forward is to take the positives and learn from the negatives of this year,” she said.
“I love the summer offseason because it’s such a great time to hone all aspects of your game,” said Zook. “Personally, I know I’ll be playing as much as possible and really focusing on short game.”
For the fall season, Farnsworth believes the talent currently on the team, mixed with new recruits, will put UCCS on the map.
“The team is growing and moving in the right direction to really be competitive next year,” she said.