On Monday, March 3 the Wildcats hosted their first collegiate golf tournament at the North Course of Abilene Country Club. 

The tournament was scheduled for three rounds, however, the third round was canceled due to windy conditions that were deemed unplayable. 

Despite the wind through the first two rounds, the Wildcats were able to walk away with a team win. 

“We looked a lot better than we did for our first tournament,” said Head Women’s Golf Coach Rob Bennett. “We could see a progression, which was great. It all culminated in the tournament.” 

The Wildcats through two rounds had a total score of +21, beating second-place Tarleton State University by 12 strokes and third-place Oral Roberts University by 16 strokes. 

“We hit the ball well,” Bennett said. “The wind blew and it was difficult but our girls didn’t really seem to be fazed by that, which was great.”

Bennett also said that the team missed a few short putts which could have extended its victory to over 15-20 strokes. 

A key piece to the Wildcats win was Ryann Honea, junior from San Angelo. Honea finished two-under-par and earned her second consecutive individual title. Kate Pickrell, sophomore from Austin, also had a great tournament, finishing five over par. 

“I think it was a mindset thing,” Honea said. “Just protecting home, we all had this idea of wanting to win. I think having that mindset and believing I was good enough to do that helped.”

Honea’s two-under finish came on the back of eight birdies and 22 pars. Honea attributed a large part of her success to her familiarity with the course. 

“A week before the tournament we went out and only hit approach shots, chips and putts to where we thought the pins would be,” Honea said. “I think we all knew which way the putts broke to each pin and that’s definitely the advantage of playing at home.”

Honea also said “momentum plays a big factor” in winning consecutive tournaments because of how the success rolls from week to week. 

Bennett attributed Honea’s success to her consistency and calm demeanor throughout the tournament. 

“The same thing that she always does,” Bennett said. “She’s very consistent, she doesn’t panic. Even in her first semester here a year and a half ago as a sophomore, she probably would have panicked a little bit with a slow start but she’s learned that doesn’t help.”

The West Texas Classic was also one of the first times campus community members such as students, faculty and staff were able to see the team compete. 

“Our expectation was to win,” Honea said. “It was fun to actually do that, especially with all of these people out watching us. It was just professors being out there, it was really fun.” 

Despite the third round being cancelled, Bennett had a surprise prepared for the team and its lone senior: Sydney Williams from Frisco. 

“It was really sweet,” Honea said. “Coach didn’t tell any of us he was doing that so we all kind of had tears in our eyes afterwards.”

Bennett took the opportunity of playing in Abilene to have the team’s version of a ‘Senior Day’ celebration after the conclusion of the tournament. He got flowers for Williams and the team honored her as its only senior. 

“That was a total surprise to me,” Williams said. “I didn’t know he was going to do that. It was really fun.” 

Williams also said that while the team had seniors last season, it did not host a tournament so there was not an opportunity for this type of event. 

“I felt really special,” Williams said. “It was nice.” 

The senior day ceremony was something Bennett had taken from a coach from a previous tournament he had coached. It was something that Bennett thought was “really cool” and had not had the opportunity to do himself until this year. 

“Sydney took a big risk to come here from a school that she was the best player at,” Bennett said. “It was really fun to honor her and it was really special. I’m glad we were able to do that.”

The Wildcats will play their next tournament March 10-11 at the Riverbend Intercollegiate, hosted by Houston Christian University.