BYU women's golf wins first tournament of spring season
BYU women's golf rolled past 11 other teams at the Texas State Invitational to take home its first win of the spring season Tuesday. Senior Annick Haczkiewicz led the Cougars, finishing 5-under par and winning the individual title at the tournament, the first of her BYU career.
Haczkiewicz finished just three shots over Tulsa junior Lilly Thomas and posted rounds of 68–75–68 in her first solo win. Two of her three rounds in this week's tournament matched her career-best.
Head coach Carrie Roberts is proud of Haczkiewicz's progress at BYU and continues to have high hopes for her at the start of the new year. 'Annick has always been committed to improving and finding a way to get it done. She is an absolute gamer, and it was so fun to watch her compete and win this week.'
Roberts has been the head coach at BYU since 2010 and has led the Cougars to multiple conference championships.
Roberts isn't the only one to notice such a monumental event for Haczkiewicz. Assistant coach Lea Garner also believes Hackiewicz's hard work is finally paying off. 'I am stoked to see Annick get this win. It has been a long time coming for her, and she has worked extremely hard to get to this point.'
The payoff has been a long time coming for Haczkiewicz after experiencing a down year in her junior season.
“It took lots and lots of preparation this week for me to play the way I did. I am beyond excited to have gotten my first win this week,' Haczkiewicz said. 'For me to turn it around and play the way I did makes me a bit emotional because of how much hard work it took to get here.”
As a team, the Cougars carded scores of 297–295–290–882, solidifying their third win of the 2021–22 season.
Senior Allysha Mae Mateo took fifth place with a score of one-over-par to help secure this week's win, while freshman Addie Anderson tied for 11th and a score of eight-over.
Sophomore Lila Galeai tied for 28th place after finishing 15-over and junior Kerstin Fotu finished tied for 39th with a score of 20-over.
'I am super proud of how this team competes and steps up when we need it most,' Roberts said. 'These girls are tough, they fight and know what they need to do to get the job done.'
Haczkiewicz believes the key to the Cougars' success and ability to step it up when it really matters is part of the team culture.
“We are all working toward the same goal of dominating and winning,' Haczkiewicz said. 'We all bring it every day in practice and in competition (we) are all incredibly tough, and most importantly we never give up.”
The Tulsa Hurricanes placed second at the tournament, nine shots behind BYU with scores of 295–298–298–891. Incarnate Word was just three shots behind the Hurricanes, posting rounds of 295–298–298–891.
The tournament was played at Plum Creek Golf Course, south of Austin, Texas. The Cougars will be playing in the Gunrock Invitational hosted by the University of California, Davis, Aggies on Feb. 28 in Sacramento, California.