Spring Preview: Keep Climbing
Thomas Dick, Athletics Communications
Texas A&M women’s golf keeps climbing. The Aggies reached a new summit to cap off the 2021-22 campaign, landing in the NCAA Championships semifinal for the first time in school history.
How would Texas A&M top that in 2022-23?
All head coach Gerrod Chadwell’s second squad in Aggieland did was repeat the semifinal appearance at nationals while adding the program’s second SEC title.
Will the Aggies be able to top that this spring?
Don’t bet against them.
“This bunch is super humble,” Chadwell said. “There’s not a lot of talking. There’s not a lot of bragging. It’s just calm, steady and workmanlike. I think they trust the process of the full year. With that in mind, we have a really talented group with a lot of veteran leadership. We are focused on playing our best golf when it counts the most.”
2022-23 RECAP
Texas A&M enjoyed another historic season in its second campaign under Chadwell. The campaign was capped off by advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season – the only two times in the final four in school history. The Aggies finished seventh in stroke play at the tournament and toppled Texas in the quarterfinal round, 3-1, before succumbing to Wake Forest in the semis.
The Aggies won a school-record five tournaments last season, including the SEC Championship. Other trophies placed on the mantel included the “Mo”Morial Invitational, East Lake Cup, ICON Invitational and Clover Cup. The Aggies also garnered the No. 1 seed for an NCAA regional for the first-time ever.
Texas A&M earned its second SEC Championship with an impressive run. The Maroon & White finished third in the stroke play portion. After carving up Florida, 4-1, in the quarterfinal round, the Aggies passed grueling tests to top South Carolina and Mississippi State. Against the Gamecocks, Blanca Fernández García-Poggio needed 23 holes to clinch the 3-2 victory. The championship match also went into extra holes with Zoe Slaughter clinching the title on the 21st hole.
Jennie Park earned All-America recognition from both Golfweek and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association. Park and Hailee Cooper were voted All-SEC Second Team by the league coaches.
Four of the five players return from the lineup that played at the NCAA Championships the past two seasons. Park paced the team with a 72.03 stroke average and locked in four top-10 finishes. Adela Cernousek boasted a 73.0 stroke average and was Texas A&M’s top finisher at the NCAA Championships in 14th place. Slaughter won the ICON Invitational and finished runner-up at the East Lake Cup en route to a 73.70 stroke average. Blanca Fernández García-Poggio was the top finisher at the East Lake Cup and had top-10 showings at the Blessings Collegiate and Liz Murphey Classic.
FALL RECAP
The Aggies played one of the nation’s strongest fall slates facing the best of the best. When all was said and done, the Maroon & White performed admirably.
“If you look at it on paper it was maybe a little disappointing,” Chadwell said. “But we had a lot of things going on individually. Jennie (Park) was at Q-school and Cata (Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio) and Adela (Cernousek) played in the World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi, so we were going with some younger lineups. We learned that we’ve got some young players that are ready to play and ready to step up and be the future of the program after this year. We’re seeing that in qualifying.”
The Aggies opened with a third-place result at the prestigious Carmel Cup at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links. Cernousek and Zoe Slaughter led the way finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.
“That was a great experience for everyone,” Chadwell said. “It served as a reminder of what we are trying to accomplish and what it will take to accomplish it.”
Another top-10 performance by Slaughter paced the Aggies to a fifth place showing at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate.
Cernousek was in the spotlight again at the elite Jackson T. Stephens Cup in Dallas, finishing second after a grueling sudden-death playoff for the title which lasted 22 holes and two days. The squad finished fourth in the stacked field.
The fall wrapped up with a pair of nail-biting 3-2 match play losses at the prestigious East Lake Cup at Atlanta Athletic Club. The Aggies were edged out by 2022 national champion Stanford with the Cardinal needing 22 holes to claim the decisive match. USC topped Texas A&M in the consolation match, 3-2.
The Aggies avenged their loss to the Trojans in the fall with a 4-2 match play victory in the Diego Duel on the Farms Golf Club to begin 2024.
“We competed really hard and beat a good team,” Chadwell said. Our energy was great, we kept our emotions in a good place and I was very impressed. This was a great experience to build off going into the spring.”
THE ROSTER
Lana Calibuso-Kwee – Junior – Wailuku, Hawai’i
- Boasted a 72.93 stroke average in 15 rounds of action in 2022-23, which was the third-best stroke average on the team.
- Placed 12th in her first collegiate action at the 2022 Carmel Cup, shooting 3-over 219.
- Served as the alternate for the Aggies at the NCAA San Antonio Regional and the NCAA Championships.
“Lana is our best cheerleader, far and away. But she’s always ready to go. We put her in a very tough spot last year in the regional and she played a great round for us. She’s working on some swing stuff that I think is going to bear fruit. We’re getting her to understand there’s a process to it and I think it’s hard to go through until you see it in the results. But everybody loves Lana on this team and you need someone like her in order to succeed.” – Gerrod Chadwell
Adela Cernousek – Junior – Antibes, France
- Lead the team this season with a 70.22 stroke average.
- Placed second at the prestigious Stephens Cup, firing a career-best 11-under 205.
- Vaulted Texas A&M to the semifinals of the 2022 NCAA Championships after defeating All-American Beatrice Wallin of Florida State in a 19-hole match.
“Adela has been one of the best players in college golf the last year and a half. When the chips are down, she is so good. I don’t know if she’s lost a match in any of our matches. She has continued to develop and mature, and she is going to be a big leader on this team.”
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio – Graduate – Madrid, Spain
- Claimed accolades as a 2022 All-SEC First Team selection and 2022 WCGA All-American Honorable Mention.
- Is the longest tenured Aggie on the roster, having spent all five years at Texas A&M.
- Boasts an 8-4 record in match play the past three years, the most wins of anyone on the team.
“We’re finally starting to see some of the tough conversations that we’ve had bear fruit. I think we’re starting to see some things that we just stayed consistent on in our message to her. We’re really starting to see her play with a lot of freedom.”
Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio – Freshman – Madrid, Spain
- Currently rated as the No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
- Placed second at the World Amateur Team Championship where she was representing her home country of Spain.
- Finished fourth at the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur last year and earned another invitation to the prestigious tournament in 2024.
“The best player in the world, period. Last semester was her the toughest semester she’ll ever have in college golf. A lot of things came at her fast, distractions that are fine and healthy, but it’s an adjustment period. The way she came out of it and the way I’ve seen her so far this semester, we’re going to get a very good version of her this spring.”
Lauren Nguyen – Junior – Katy, Texas
- Earned billing as the 2019 Texas Legends Junior Tour Player of the Year.
- Led Seven Lakes to two-straight Region III-6A championships in 2018-19.
- Finished in 71st place at the “Mo”Morial Tournament last season.
“Lauren has weathered the storm and she’s very close to getting in the lineup. I love her persistence. She is willing to just answer the bell every time and get back off the mat when she gets knocked down. She is going to play some golf for us in the future.”
Mia Nixon – Sophomore – Martins Mill, Texas
- Saw action in three tournaments this season.
- Won her match versus USC at the Diego Dual, 2&1.
- Ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Texas and the No. 32 golfer in the 2022 class.
“I love Mia because I think she’s a version of me. A basketball player and a golfer. She has really changed some things over the offseason and really improved. Her game was great in San Diego and she’s in the lineup right now. She is going to be a big part of the future going forward.”
Jennie Park – Graduate – Carrollton, Texas
- Collection of honors includes two-time All-America recognition as well as All-SEC Second Team status last season.
- Notched a top-10 finish at the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and will be competing at the prestigious tournament again in 2024.
- Led the team last year with a 72.03 stroke average.
“Jennie is a pro. She’s a pro and a quiet leader who leads by example and does everything right. She’s a hard worker that is constantly honing her craft. It was a really busy fall for her, and she’s got that stuff behind her, so she’s ready to have a great semester.”
Zoe Slaughter – Senior – Houston, Texas
- Clinched the 2023 SEC Championship by winning her 21-hole match versus Mississippi State.
- Recognized as the 2021 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year while playing at Houston.
- Represents Texas A&M as the first African American student-athlete in program history.
“Zoe is the OG. She’s the one that decided to come to A&M and get things started here. She was nicknamed The Silent Assassin in our first trip to nationals, and she continues to live up to that. Off the course, she’s a great listener and a great teammate. Everyone seems to go to her for whatever help they may need and she’s always there.”
Sky Sudberry – Freshman – The Woodlands, Texas
- Earned billing as No. 3 recruit in the state of Texas and the No. 18 golfer in America in the 2023 class based on the American Junior Golf Association rankings.
- Tied for seventh at the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational (Jan. 15, 2023), shooting a 3-under 213.
- Turned in eight top-20 performances, including three top-10 outings during the 2022 season.
“Sky is a big part of our future. The thing I love about her is she is so poised. She’s in her first year, but it seems like she’s a fifth-year senior. If you put her in a room full of strangers, she’ll work the room. Don’t let her size fool you. She’s super-competitive and has a ton of experience since a very young age. I think that helped her get through her tough fall and she’s in the lineup right.”
TOURNAMENTS TO WATCH
The spring season has a new look with just one holdover tournament from last year – the ICON Invitational in Humble, Texas. The five-tournament slate features trips Puerto Rico, Florida, Arizona and South Carolina.
"We don’t have the .500-rule to get into NCAA Regionals like the men’s golf does, so we’re trying to find the toughest tournaments we can get into, and we can cover coast to coast,” Chadwell said. “I think that prepares you for where you might get sent regionally. We’re blessed with hosting a regional this year, so that gave us a little bit of freedom with scheduling.”
The spring season starts Feb. 4-6 at the Puerto Rico Classic at Grand Reserve Golf Club hosted by No. 22 Purdue. The Aggies test their meddle against teams from coast-to-coast in a field with a national flavor.
“A lot of teams do their destination trip,” Chadwell said. “You can kind of say it’s our destination trip. It will be nice, because you’re always kind of chasing weather around here early in the year. We’re going to get there a couple of days early and get to work on some things. We get to take seven players, which we don’t get to do very much. They’ll get some great competitive reps and bring that back to campus and apply it the rest of the year.”
The Aggies head to Suntree Country Club in Melbourne, Florida, Feb. 18-20 for the Moon Golf Invitational hosted by Louisville. Last year, the 16-team field featured 13 squads ranked in the top 50. The 2024 edition figures to be just as formidable.
“It has the potential to be the toughest tournament we see on spring schedule and a great test for the team,” Chadwell said.
The Aggies return to the site of one of the most impressive performances in program history when they play in the ICON Invitational Feb. 26-27 at the Golf Club of Houston. Last year, Texas A&M produced a program-record 34-under 830 en route to winning the tournament by 10 strokes. Slaughter led the charge with a program-best 18 under 198 at the par-72, 6,392-yard course.
“There are a lot of Aggies in Houston,” Chadwell said. “It’s always fun to see them come out and support the girls. We played phenomenal there last year, and we look forward to showcasing another great team there this season. It also helps competitively since it’s a 36-18 event like you’ll see in the SEC Championships and NCAA Championships.”
The regular season wraps up with tournaments in back-to-back weekends. The Aggies play the Mountain View Collegiate in Arizona at The Preserve at Saddlebrooke March 15-17 and the Clemson Invitational in South Carolina March 22-24.
POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
The Aggies’ postseason schedule features new sites sandwiched around a much-anticipated home tournament for the NCAA Regional.
Texas A&M heads to Florida to defend its SEC crown April 12-16. After battling for the conference crown at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham since 2013, the tournament moves to Pelican Golf Club outside of Clearwater this year. The venue has hosted the LPGA Tour’s The Annika since 2020 and was featured in The Match VII in December 2022 with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas battling it out against Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
“Pelican is a lot different than Birmingham, Alabama,” Chadwell said. “It’s flat and has very tough green complexes.”
With the SEC boasting nine teams in the Clippd Top 25 heading into the spring, the conference tournament figures to be a grueling affair.
“The tournament is as tough as it gets,” Chadwell said. “Everybody in the SEC gets better every year. It’s crazy when you come out and think ‘We’ve established ourselves here,’ but then you look around and everybody else raises the bar, so you must go out and get even better and do it again. That’s what’s so impressive about this conference. You can’t just play OK and expect to get to the match play portion of the championship. So that’s a great barometer before we kind of start to push in all the chips for regionals and the NCAAs.”
The Aggies are excited to host NCAA Regional action at their home course May 6-8. Traditions Club, which previously hosted women’s regionals in 2006 and 2016, gives the Maroon & White a cherished advantage.
“I’m excited to see a sea of Aggies,” Chadwell said. “They will come out and show how special the 12th Man is. A lot of coaches would worry about hosting a regional because it’s tough to do all the things which that entails while also doing their coaching duties. Another special thing about this place is I don’t have to worry about that stuff. We have an army of people that are tackling all those tasks, so I truly get to do my job and coach.”
The NCAA Championships, held May 17-22, has found a new venue in southern California. The Champions Course at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad underwent a facelift last year in anticipation of become the host of men’s and women’s championship for at least the next three years.
“We got a chance to drive around the property when we were out there,” Chadwell said. “It was different than what I thought it would be. It’s a little flatter than I thought it would be in that area of San Diego. The one thing I really like is it’s going to be a little bit cooler, which is nice because Greyhawk was a scorcher. We like going out west. It seems like any time we play out west, whether it’s Napa or Scottsdale or any place like that, we play very well. So hopefully that pays off at La Costa.”
