Both of Union University’s golf teams braved the inclement weather and put forth strong performances in their respective tournaments, which took place from Sept. 23-24. The women’s team placed first at the King University Invitational in Bristol, Tenn., and the men’s team finished eighth at the NCAA National Preview Tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. These finishes continued a trend of improvement for both teams.
The women’s tournament took place over two days, with each golfer shooting 18 holes daily. The team tied their 18-hole record of 300 on the first day. After shooting nine holes on the second day, play was stopped for a rain delay. It resumed two hours later, and the team finished the tournament two shots ahead of the rest of the field with a score of 617. Brooklyn Verdugo, a junior business management major, and Abigail Fernandez, a sophomore sports management major, led the team throughout the competition and tied for fifth place.
“Getting to play and then stop, then waiting a while before playing again is definitely hard,” Verdugo said. “But overall, I’m proud of everybody for battling the tough conditions and some good competition and staying in the tournament to bring home that first-place win.”
The men’s tournament also featured a competitive field. All 14 teams competing were either ranked or receiving NCAA Division II votes in recent polls. Union’s golf team shot a combined score of 584 through 36 holes on the first day of competition. Senior business administration major Gray Campbell ended the day as Union’s top finisher, tied for sixth in the tournament with a score of 140. The team was scheduled to play another 18 holes the next day, but the round was canceled due to heavy rainfall. Only the first day of the competition was scored.
“It’s not ideal, but we played through it,” Trace Robinson, a sophomore economics major, said. “And in that stiff field, we’re okay with an eighth-place performance.”
For the women’s team, this tournament marked their first win of the season, and their first NCAA Division II tournament win since 2019. The women have one more tournament in St. Simons Island, Ga., to conclude their fall season. Then, they will turn their attention to training for the spring season starting in February.
“Everybody worked really hard over the summer, and you can see a lot of improvement in scores,” Verdugo said. “Last year, we got seventh out of nine in the conference, but I think we can do better this year with the direction our team is heading.”
The men’s fall season will conclude with two more tournaments in Florida in October. While the team will play against ranked opponents in both contests, it is optimistic that the tournaments will prepare it for some regional and conference competition in the spring.
“This last tournament is pretty similar to where we finished in the past, but the team is really hard-working, and we’re improving mentally a lot,” Robinson said. “So I definitely see us improving on that placement in our next few tournaments.”
Though a couple of freshmen were added to the roster this year, the majority of the golfers from both teams returned from last season. The teams are seeing mental and physical improvement from last year — both on and off the course — and are excited to see how that translates into tournament placement in the coming year.
“At the forefront of my mind is keeping golf where it’s supposed to be and finding my identity in Christ in whatever I do,” Robinson said. “If I do that, then no matter what challenges happen during the tournament, the golf will take care of itself.”
