The women’s golf team finished its first tournament of the spring season in 12th place at the University of Central Florida Challenge in Orlando, Florida.

The tournament, hosted by UCF at Eagle Creek Golf Club, was won by No. 7-ranked Auburn University with a 24-under final score through three days of play. The Wildcats finished the tournament with a team score of 31-over 895, led by Kate Pickrell, junior from Austin, who finished in a tie for 41st with a four-over 220.

“I feel like my focus wasn’t on how I was playing,” Pickrell said. “Honestly, I was just focused on glorifying God. By focusing on him, I wasn’t necessarily caring about my bad shots or how I was caring, and those things didn’t affect me as much.”

Pickrell’s finish was the first of her career in which she led the Wildcats. Pickrell carded all three rounds over par but demonstrated consistency and control with finishes of one-over par, two-over par and one-over par over the three-day tournament.

“She was just so mentally strong all week,” Head Coach Rob Bennett said. “She really bought into the point system and the idea of not worrying about what the score was going to be. She didn’t let a frustrating moment, a bad shot, or a good shot change her mindset.”

The Wildcats as a team carded just three double bogeys or worse, a mark that allowed them to compete with some of the best teams in the tournament and in the country. After the first day of play, the Wildcats outpaced the No. 24-ranked Kent State University Golden Flashes by a stroke.

“We’re not a finished product,” Bennett said. “I think that’s the key from this event. I looked at it as an event where we can learn and grow, but also to see how we match up against some really good teams.”

Bennett also said that while the team saw some success, it will look for consistency as it develops and refines its skills through the spring. Bennett pointed to the Western Athletic Conference Championship Tournament as the goal for being a finished product.

In addition to Pickrell’s success, Jasmine Do, sophomore from Cypress, paced the Wildcats through day one, carding six birdies and ending four-under par through 18 holes, a personal record in her collegiate career.

“She’s just in control,” Bennett said. “I told her after she did a great job of not letting a frustrating bogey stop her.”

Bennett said a big moment in the tournament for Do came on hole number five of her first round. The 167-yard par-three was between clubs for Do. After a tee shot that was short of her standard, Do carded a bogey but bounced back with three birdies on the following holes.

“Bogey on that hole actually wasn’t bad this week,” Bennett said. “It was a pretty difficult hole. She didn’t let that stop her. She went and made more birdies coming in and got her score to five under.”

Additionally, Pickrell said Do’s performance was encouraging from the team, and her streaks of birdies allowed for the team to build momentum.

“She got a lot of momentum going, birdie after birdie,” Pickrell said. “I think that really fired up the rest of the team.”

While she did not lead the Wildcats on the scorecard, Ryann Honea, senior from San Angelo, was still leading the team with her composure, patience and presence while struggling to see putts fall.

“She made a lot of putts but also couldn’t get a lot to fall,” Bennett said. “She hit 16 greens in her first round and shot even par. Generally, when you hit 16 green,s you’re probably shooting under par.”

Honea finished her first round at even par, carding a single birdie and a single bogey but playing holes seven through 18 at perfect par.

“Everyone looks at Ryann as a leader,” Bennett said. “They want to know what her thoughts are, or they’ll ask her opinion on things. They’ll see how she’ll react to a frustrating round, and it’s good leadership because other players can look at her and say, ‘OK, maybe she didn’t play her best today, but she isn’t panicking, or she’s not worried about it.’ She just sticks to her game plan, and because of that, she’s able to always be in the mix of shooting good scores.”

The Wildcats will have until March 2 before they play in their next tournament, the West Texas Classic, and won’t have to worry about traveling for a tournament until March 23, when the team heads to Phoenix, Arizona, for the PING and Arizona State University Invitational.

“We’re going to do some team stuff so we stay in competition,” Bennett said. “We’ll do an inner-squad match between the girls. I think that’s going to be helpful to stay focused and locked in. They know our goal and our expectation is to win our tournament here in Abilene.”