RIO GRAND VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's golf team made history this past spring but the mindset to becoming the Southland Conference champions started to change early in the season.
 
The Vaqueros started the spring with a couple of top-five finishes starting with a fifth place finish at the Texas State Invitational. 
 
The other came at the Islander Collegiate Invitational where the Vaqueros got a taste of being in contention as they went toe-to-toe with Houston Christian before falling to second in the final round. 
 
After that tournament in Corpus Christi, it seemed a switch was flipped for the Vaqueros. There was a determination to want to be better for the next time they were facing a similar situation, which came up at the SLC Championship.
 
"I felt a big jump from the fall to the spring," UTRGV Director of Golf Houston Moore said. "It seemed like the girls were a little bit more in-sync as a unit. They also had a chip on their shoulder after the Corpus Christi event, so they kind of used that as fuel for the rest of the spring. It seemed like they were dedicated to their craft and all wanting to get better, which was a huge step in the right direction for us."
 
UTRGV finished in the top half of the field in their next two tournaments while also splitting the South Texas Match Play with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to retain the South Texas Cup. 
 
When the Vaqueros got to the SLC Championship, they were the second highest ranked team behind Houston Christian. After the first round, The Vaqueros found themselves eight shots behind the Huskies but they remembered what they learned in Corpus Christi. 
 
Instead of letting Houston Christian run away with the championship, the Vaqueros mounted a comeback. They used what they learned to fuel their focus and determination at Kissing Tree Golf Course. 
 
The Vaqueros posted back-to-back rounds of even par as team as they won the championship by one stroke. They went in knowing that they could win it all but the way it ended was only seen in the movies.
 
"It wasn't a surprise for them being in contention and having a shot," Moore said. "They had a ton of self-belief and they seemed eager for the opportunity. The ending was a surprise. It was an unbelievable comeback. There was a lot of birdies and not a lot of bogeys. The shots that they hit coming down the stretch was really impressive and it took a lot of mental toughness and resilience to get where they got. It was an unbelievable way to cap off conference."
 
The final day was a roller coaster ride. UTRGV entered trailing by one shot but after three holes found themselves up by six. Houston Christian didn't back down and UTRGV was trailing as their final golfer made the turn. 
 
The Vaqueros played their best golf in crunch time as they played the final five holes eight-under par as a team. Preston Saiz played the back nine at one-under, Natalia Rodriguez birdied three of her last four holes, Pitchayapa Pungpho birdied her last four holes, and Miriam Barcalova nearly chipped in to clinch the win.
 
After the tournament in Corpus Christi, the Vaqueros found their consistency. They were being consistent in their physical game and their mental game but most importantly they were consistent in their determination to want to be at their best.
 
"I think the biggest thing I saw from them this spring was their work ethic and coming to the golf course each day ready to get to work done," Moore said. "I think that carries over in that consistency piece."
 
Rodriguez has been the rock of the program for the last three seasons and has been leading by example on and off the course. She earned Southland All-Conference Second Team honors setting the bar for the rest of her teammates. 
 
Barcalova was named SLC Newcomer of the Year while being named to the All-Conference First Team. In her first year with the program, it took her time to get acclimated but she hit her stride in the spring. 
 
"I think she took a step forward in the spring," Moore said. "I think it was a lot self-awareness. We had a lot of good conversations in the fall and I think being self-aware of who you are as a golfer, what you bring to the table each day, and how to combat your deficiencies, I think she understood that more in the spring. She was able to fix some of those things on the fly rather than having to waiting until after the round. Some of those rounds were able to be managed a little better."
 
Zoe Hobbs brought in experience and another level of competition in her first year with the program as she helped push everyone else around her. Saiz and Kieli Saenz took steps forward that helped raise the floor for UTRGV. 
 
Pungpho also took strides in the spring that helped pay off for UTRGV at the SLC Championship. She capped off her sophomore season with a great stretch of golf.
 
"She steadily got better," Moore said. "From day one on campus to the last tournament, the improvement from Pitchayapa was huge. That goes into not giving up on yourself but also wanting to work hard so you don't let your teammates down are both big things why she made such a big improvement. It was really an impressive conference championship for her."
 
It seemed like the Vaqueros turned a corner after the tournament in Corpus Christi. It was that lesson that was key for the Vaqueros to win their first conference championship en route to their first trip to an NCAA Regional.
 
The lessons they learned this spring will help them moving forward as the Vaqueros will return every single golfer in the lineup at the SLC Championship. They learned that they too could do what no one thought they could. 
 
"I think they learned that they could," Moore said. "The only people that are going to stop them from doing that are themselves. Being in that situation in Corpus was a huge learning experience, for them as individuals but also as a team. They were in that situation after the first round at conference, they were eight down. That didn't bother them. They were down an even smaller deficit after round two. Then they were down five or six going into the back nine in the final round and I think just knowing that they could and that it was totally on them and ff they played their game and did what they needed to do, then Houston Christian couldn't stop them. I think that was the biggest thing for them at conference."
 
With almost everyone coming back next season, the Vaqueros are primed to make a run again.
 
If 2025-26 is only the beginning, then it will be exciting to see what is in store for the Vaqueros in 2026-27 and beyond. 
 
"I am really proud of both teams," Moore said. "It was an incredible job and nothing was given to either team at conference. They went out there and took it. I am really proud of them and their resilience. I have a lot of pride for them and what they have done for us and what they'll do in the future."
 
Support UTRGV Women's Golf | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube