The Cougar Cup tournament in Washington State got the best of the women's golf team this week; they finished in 10th place with a final score of 929.
'The first round they were fresh,' coach Carrie Roberts said. 'As you start you're mentally fresh, you're ready to go and then as you get playing you kind of start thinking about things. You kind of play it scared rather than commit to your shots. I think that's what happened throughout the three days, we started off really trusting, really committing and then we just kind of slowly lost confidences. It's a very tough golf course and it's easy to doubt yourself and that's what we did.'
With a first round finish of 306, second round of 309 and final round of 314, the Cougars are a bit behind the mark in meeting their goal of a 306 team average.
'I think it's all about just really wanting to accomplish our goal,' sophomore Maria Yacaman said. 'Sometimes I guess we forget and then we let things bother us, like being tired, and it's not supposed to be like that.'
While this tournament may not have gone according to plan for the Cougars, the women know what needs to be done to prepare for their next chance to compete.
'We should control our emotions better throughout the rounds,' Yacaman said. 'Thinking about it as a whole, as a team, will help us carry (the excitement) on to the other rounds. Thinking that we're not playing for our self but for a team. Every stroke counts, not only for me as an individual but for a team.'
Roberts is prepared to make practice more like a real life situation and drive the team to a new level.
'We're going to try to put ourselves in as many pressure situations as we can so that the girls feel more in tournament mode,' Roberts said. 'Compete as much as we can, and work as hard as we can.'
The Cougars have this next week to practice before heading to New Mexico State University October 8 to 10.