The Core Returned. UTRGV Women’s Golf May Be Even Deeper.

We knew what UTRGV Women’s Golf was bringing back.

The Vaqueros returned the entire five-player lineup that won last season’s Southland Conference Championship and took the program to its first NCAA Regional.

That was the reason for optimism entering the fall.

Two tournaments later, though, something else is starting to stand out.

This team may be deeper than the one that won the championship.

UTRGV opened the season tied for second at the Bear Brawl and followed it with a third-place finish at the Lady Clerico.

The returning core is doing its part.

But so are the newcomers.

Barcalova Is Setting the Early Pace

Miriam Barcalova has wasted little time establishing herself at the front of the lineup.

The junior opened the season with a T4 finish at the Bear Brawl, shooting 70-70-77 for a 217. She followed that with a T10 at the Lady Clerico, shooting 228.

That’s two tournaments and two top-10 finishes.

For some perspective, Barcalova recorded two top-10 finishes during all of last season.

That season ended with her finishing second at the Southland Championship, earning First Team All-Southland honors and being named the conference’s Newcomer of the Year.

Now she’s already matched last season’s top-10 total.

That’s a start worth paying attention to.

Garrido Fernandez Introduces Herself

Maybe the most interesting development came at the Lady Clerico.

Freshman Nerea Garrido Fernandez wasn’t in UTRGV’s lineup at the Bear Brawl.

One week later, she made her collegiate debut.

Her response?

77-74-77. A 228. Tied for 10th.

She finished alongside Barcalova as UTRGV’s highest-placing golfer at the tournament.

That’s one tournament. We don’t need to make it more than it is.

But a top-10 in your first college event will get our attention.

Especially on a team that already returned a championship lineup.

Kamphoo Is Making Her Case Too

And Garrido Fernandez isn’t the only freshman getting involved.

Kanyanat Kamphoo, our Newcomer to Watch entering the season, has been in the starting five for both tournaments.

She finished T22 at the Bear Brawl before improving to 15th at the Lady Clerico.

That meant two freshmen finished inside the top 15 for UTRGV at Lady Clerico.

Garrido Fernandez was T10.

Kamphoo was 15th.

For a defending conference champion that returned its entire championship lineup, that’s a pretty significant early development.

The Veterans Haven’t Gone Anywhere

Of course, this isn’t suddenly a freshman-led team.

Natalia Rodriguez opened her senior season with a T7 finish at the Bear Brawl, shooting 220. She followed with a T16 at Lady Clerico.

That’s exactly the kind of steady presence UTRGV needs from a golfer who led the team with a 76.8 scoring average last season and earned Second Team All-Southland honors.

Then there’s Zoe Hobbs.

Hobbs finished 10th at the Bear Brawl with a 223, giving UTRGV three top-10 finishers in the season opener.

She wasn’t part of the five-player lineup at Lady Clerico.

And yet UTRGV still finished third with four golfers inside the top 16.

That tells us something about the options this roster may have.

Competition Is Already Showing Up

Freshman Avery Glanzer has also started both tournaments, finishing T20 at the Bear Brawl and T27 at Lady Clerico.

Senior Preston Saiz competed individually at the Bear Brawl and finished T20, closing with a 72.

That leaves Pitchayapa Pungpho and Kieli Saenz as the other members of UTRGV’s current nine-player roster.

Pungpho is particularly interesting because she was part of last season’s Southland Championship lineup.

That’s why the early freshman performances matter.

UTRGV didn’t enter this season desperately searching for players to fill holes.

It returned a championship team.

Now newcomers are competing for spots anyway.

Two Tournaments, Two Top-Three Finishes

The individual results are encouraging.

The team results might be even more important.

UTRGV opened the season tied for second at the Bear Brawl with an 884.

One week later, the Vaqueros finished third at the Lady Clerico with a 915, nine strokes behind champion Houston Christian.

That’s two top-three finishes with two different starting lineups.

At the Bear Brawl, Barcalova, Rodriguez and Hobbs all finished in the top 10.

At Lady Clerico, Barcalova and Garrido Fernandez tied for 10th, Kamphoo finished 15th and Rodriguez was T16.

That’s the part that has our attention.

Diamond DITV Final Word

Our biggest question entering the season wasn’t whether UTRGV had experience.

We knew it did.

The entire Southland Championship lineup was back.

What we didn’t know was how quickly the newcomers could push their way into the conversation.

We’re starting to get an answer.

Garrido Fernandez has a top-10 in her first collegiate tournament. Kamphoo already has a top-15. Glanzer has started both events.

Meanwhile, Barcalova has opened with consecutive top-10s, Rodriguez already has one of her own, and Hobbs finished 10th in the opener.

It’s September. Nobody is defending a Southland championship yet.

But after back-to-back top-three team finishes, the early takeaway is becoming difficult to ignore.

The championship core came back.

UTRGV may have added even more around it.