The women’s golf team ended the team tournament season with a runner-up finish at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

The now three-year-old program has finished as the conference runner-up each of its first three seasons. Head Coach Rob Bennett said that it is both a point of encouragement and something he was hoping to change heading into the team’s third WAC tournament.

“Right now, it’s hard for me to be positive about it,” Bennett said. “But I am grateful that we had the opportunity to win all three years… We’ve had chances to win. We just haven’t done it. I’m grateful for the chances to win, but I’m ready to win.”

The Wildcats had three players finish in the top 5 of the field. Maddi Kamas finished tied for second at 3-over par, while Ryann Honea and Kate Pickrell finished tied for fifth at 7-over par.

“Maddie is so calm and confident,” Bennett said. “She kept everybody loose and had a lot of fun. That was something we needed.”

Kamas, graduate from Ardmore, Oklahoma, started the tournament hot. Playing in her fifth conference tournament after winning the conference four times at Oklahoma City University, Kamas ended round one 3-under par and at the top of the leaderboard.

“This was my fifth year,” Kamas said. “I’ve been at four other conference tournaments, and we’d won all four at OCU. I also won four times individually, so I just went into it with the mindset of ‘why not make it another one, you know, go out with a bang.’”

Day two of the tournament was delayed, pushing the Wildcats’ tee times to nearly 2 p.m. In addition to the delay, the course played much softer with the wet conditions. Due to the weather, players were permitted to play “lift, clean and place,” meaning they could pick up, clean and hand-place the golf ball before each stroke.

“The course definitely got softer because of all the rain,” Bennett said. “ We ended up playing lift, clean and place… I don’t particularly love that because if you have a bad lie in the rough, you could pick it up and then you could have a good lie in the rough after you put it back down.”

Honea, senior from San Angelo, led the Wildcats on day two, shooting 3-under par and entering the final round at even par through 36 holes. Honea secured six birdies in her second round, including three from holes 12 to 17.

“Ryann’s been great for us for three years,” Bennett said. “It’s hard when you’ve had such success like Ryann. I know she really wanted to win one as a team.”

Pickrell, junior from Austin, shone for the Wildcats on the final 18 holes. She posted a 1-over card on the final 18 holes, good for sixth on the day and pushing her into the top five overall.

“Kate has really been trending this semester, and I’m not surprised to see it,” Bennett said. “I told her after the event, this is her team to lead now. I’m really proud of her. It’s not always just about golf scores.”

While the team hoped for more ahead of its third WAC tournament, Kamas said Bennett told the team how proud he was and how much they’ve accomplished as one of the youngest programs in the country.

Now, in post-team play, the Wildcats will look to send Honea to an NCAA regional tournament for the third time in as many years. The NCAA selection show will take place at Noon on Wednesday. Last season, Honea tied for 41st in her regional appearance at the Rawls Course in Lubbock. To conclude the 2023-’24 season, Honea finished 50th at the Bryan Regional as a sophomore.

“She’s the best player in our school’s history,” Bennett said. “She would probably be the best player in a lot of schools’ history, even power four schools.”

Both Honea and Kamas are playing in their final season with the team. Honea will graduate having played as a Wildcat for three years, while Kamas played for one.

“I think it was a really good year,” Kamas said. “I’m really glad I was able to end my career here.”