CORPUS CHRISTI – Throughout the year, GoIslanders.com's Christina Boothe will feature student-athletes from each of our 15 sports. Every Monday, we will bring you a Q&A session with a student-athlete, while Wednesday we will feature an in-depth story of a student-athlete or team. Be sure to keep tabs on GoIslanders.com as well as our Facebook (Islanders Athletics) and Twitter/Instagram (Go_Islanders) pages throughout the year for more information.
Islanders Women's Golf is one of the least known sports at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Not many people take the time to go to the Corpus Christi Country Club to support the team, as they fight in a different venue than most sports do. But those who do go recognize the budding potential when they see it.
The Islanders women's golf team is composed of four freshmen and one sophomore. The young team has a lot of work ahead of it, but also a lot of potential. Head Coach Carol Blackmar is the first to say how excited she is about the different dynamic this year.
"It's my first time to have four freshmen on the team," Coach Blackmar said. "I think the most I've brought in is three before. But the positive, in my eyes, is that they're all coming in at the same time and having a great opportunity to work together and form a good basis for the team."
The future is bright for the young team. Those who have had the disadvantages of a young, experienced team often reap the benefits when that same team ages just four years.
"Obviously, to have four seniors on the team eventually with all the experience that they'll bring is a fantastic advantage," Coach Blackmar noted. "They just need to get out and compete more right now. They're just young and the more they get on the course, the better they'll be. To have all four of them sharing that experience make them grow together."
The young team is optimistic about their season, but Coach Blackmar recognizes that success, while within reach, will take time.
"What we plan on doing is just giving them a year of experience." Coach Blackmar explained. "The girls are going to tell you that we'll go out and possibly win conference. That would be great, but my hopes are just for us to do something a little bit better every tournament and put ourselves out there so we can gain experience."
With such a young team, the most experienced player happens to be just a sophomore. Ana Paredes, the only Islanders Golf veteran, has a heavy weight on her shoulders for just her second year.
"Ana has big shoes to step into," Coach Blackmar commented. "She is unbelievably mature. Ana has come in and been a great leader. As a sophomore, that's hard to do. But she's really stepped up in a leadership role and makes sure that we bring everything to the golf course for competition, from eating good meals to everything that freshman might have questions about. She's been there for them 100 percent. It's exciting to watch her grow and step into that role."
Like many Islanders sports, the diversity on the green is massive.
"We have an international flavor going. One girl is from Spain, one from Canada, one from Japan, and two from Texas," Coach Blackmar observed. "Our assistant coach is from Austin. It's been fun to watch the differences between the girls. The language differences are so interesting. When we say something one way, the girls interpret it a different way. They all feel like they've gotten these great friends in different parts of the world, and places they can go visit and learn about to learn different cultures. Anna Millet-Esteve is trying to teach me Spanish. I told her to keep it in sports lingo and I'll be good."
Things continue to only look up for the Islanders Women's Golf team. With the same team for three more years, the girls will reach new levels of development with each year and learn to really work well with each other.
"It's really fun to have these girls who will be together for three solid years," Coach Blackmar concluded. "I can't wait to see the improvements that we make over these next few seasons."
