By Michael Haag | Sports Writer
No. 16 Baylor women’s golf finished second against Texas A&M University and the University of Southern California on Saturday in The Desert Match Play at the Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Baylor scored 63.5 points in their first event of the spring, in which six players took part in three separate nine-hole matches. Points were granted for a match victory, and extra points were gained for the margin of victory over each opponent.
Sophomore golfer Rosie Belsham led the Bears with 19 points going undefeated, beating all six of her opponents. Her highlighted wins were the defeat of Texas A&M’s and USC’s No. 1 players by two points each.
The Aggies won the three-team event with a team score of 72.5; USC an isolated third with 30 points. Despite the loss, head coach Jay Goble was happy with the team’s performance, saying it would’ve been nice to bring the trophy back to Waco, but the team was able to get back into the swing of competitive play.
“We accomplished most of the things we were looking to accomplish over the last two days,” Goble said. “The only thing we missed out on was a team victory. What we did do was knock the rust off, compete and grind over shots that meant something. Most importantly, we played a whole day of match play. It would have been nice to bring a trophy home, but Texas A&M played very well today and they deserved the win.”
Fifth-year senior Gurleen Kaur recorded 14.5 points with two five-point wins over USC’s No.1 and No. 3 players.
Forced to fight through adversity, freshman Antonia Matte picked up 8.5 points after losses to her first two opponents.
In her first match of the day, sophomore Britta Snyder racked up four points to get off to a hot start, ending the day with eight points, the fourth-most on the team.
Freshman BaiMai Seema swept her late morning matchups and ultimately concluded the day with seven points.
Graduate transfer Addie Baggarly, formerly at the University of Florida, made her debut for the Bears and secured her first win in the green and gold, via a three-point victory against USC’s No.5 player. She wound up with 6.5 points in the event.
Baylor will return to action at the Moon Golf Invitation Feb. 20-22 at Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Fla.
