Texas Rio Grande Valley Athletics

Ofelia Lopez enters her second season as the Director of Men[apos]s and Women[apos]s Golf and third season as the head coach for the women[apos]s golf program at The University of Texas-Pan American. With the fall and spring seasons combined, Lopez guided her Lady Broncs to three top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes in nine tournaments competed during her second season as director of men and women[apos]s golf. Of the three top-five finishes, two of those where back-to-back tournament titles with the winning of the inaugural Great West Conference tournament followed by the National Minority Collegiate Golf Championship. The Lady Broncs came from 14 strokes behind to capture the Great West tournament title with a three-round score of 961 (327-321-313). With Lopez[apos]s guidance, the Lady Broncs opened the fall season with a fifth-place showing at the UC Fall Invitational (hosted by the University of Cincinnati). At that same tournament, then freshman Majo Camey shot a 69 breaking the school record for lowest round. Camey also tied the record for the third lowest round score with a 71 in the first round of the National Minority Championship. At the Great West Conference Championship, UTPA swept all honors with Lopez named Great West Conference Coach of the Year. Four of the Lady Broncs finished in the top-10, while three earned First Team All-Conference honors and one with Second Team All-Conference accolades. Haley Hocott also took the individual tournament title, first in collegiate career, and Mariale Camey the runner-up spot. With one title under her belt during her second season, Lopez guided the Lady Broncs to another tournament title with the winning of the program[apos]s fourth National Minority Collegiate Golf Championship. The Lady Broncs accounted for five of the top-10 slots with Majo Camey taking top honors with a first-place finish, Great West champion Haley Hocott in second, Mariale Camey in third, Bronwyn Sandberg in eighth and Sarah Kothny in ninth. With Lopez at the helm, the Lady Broncs three-round score of 922 at the National Minority Championship is the program[apos]s fifth all-time lowest three-round score. After earning multiple honors at the conclusion of the season, the Lady Broncs earned post-season honors with four of the women earning Great West Conference Spring All-Academic team honors and three earning NGCA All-American Scholar Team honors. The Lady Broncs maintained a 3.44 grade point average during the 2008-09 academic campaign. In her first season, Lopez oversaw both the men and women[apos]s programs. She kept things steady as she juggled both the men and women[apos]s schedule. In her first season as head coach, Lopez took the Broncs and Lady Broncs to 13 top-10 finishes for the 2007-08 season. To begin the spring season, both the men and women captured the tournament title at the Jack Brown Memorial Tournament hosted by Texas A&M-International. With Lopez[apos]s guidance, junior Mariale Camey took home the individual tournament title placing first with a three-round score of 153 (74-79-82). By the end of the season, the men[apos]s golf program had competed in eight tournaments, six of which where top-10 finishes. The Broncs recorded their second best finish of the season at the National Minority Golf Championship with a third place showing. The Lady Broncs competed in a total of 10 contests with eight of them being top-10 finishes. UTPA finished in a close second to Bethune-Cookman at the National Minority Golf Championship. Junior Mariale Camey came close to capturing the title placing second with a three-round score of 226 behind Bethune-Cookman[apos]s Becky Dowell (226). At the beginning of the 2007-08 season, the women[apos]s golf program was ranked 182 in the Women[apos]s College Golf Rankings and jumped 60 spots up by the end of the season. Despite having a season that runs year round, Lopez was able to keep the Broncs and Lady Broncs focused on their class work. Between the men and women[apos]s teams, Lopez had three student-athletes make Dean[apos]s List - Second Honors; two Dean[apos]s List - First Honors; 11 Bronc Pride 3.0 Club; and one 4.0 on the team. Prior to joining the UTPA staff, the San Antonio-native spent the previous two seasons as the University of Southern Mississippi[apos]s assistant women[apos]s golf coach/graduate assistant coach. The Golden Eagles recorded four top-five finishes during the 2006-07 season, including a third-place showing at the Cincinnati Fall Classic, fourth-place finish at the UAB Fall Beach Bash and fifth-place showing at The Baja Invitational. In addition to their success on the golf course, five members of the USM women[apos]s golf team earned Dean[apos]s List or Athletic Director[apos]s Honor Roll laurels for their work in the classroom. Lopez had strong ties with the University of Southern Mississippi as she was a four-year standout for the Golden Eagles during her collegiate career, earning first team Conference USA laurels during the 2001 season. A four-time USM student-athlete of the week award recipient, Lopez was a model in the classroom as she was honored with the USM Athletic Director[apos]s Bronze Academic Medal as well as cited with Conference USA Commissioner[apos]s Honor Roll honors. A member of the All-Thirty Team at the University of Southern Mississippi, Lopez continued to compete after her collegiate career came to an end and captured the 2004 San Antonio City Women[apos]s Amateur Championship and was a runner-up to be on the Big Break III: Ladies Only Challenge, which is seen on the Golf Channel. She also played the Future Tournament for a brief while in 2006. Following her playing career with the Golden Eagles, Lopez served as the Assistant Golf Professional at the Resort Course at La Cantera in her hometown of San Antonio, TX, before being promoted to Tournament Coordinator five months later. Lopez earned her bachelor[apos]s degree in coaching and sports administration with an emphasis in coaching from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2004 and then went on to earn her master[apos]s in sports management from Southern Mississippi in 2007.