Sophomore Megan Thothong finished second on the Cougars’ team with an +8 over par performance at the AAC Championships. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
Storming back into first place after the second round of the American Athletic Conference Championships, the women’s golf team held onto its lead and won its first conference title in school history.
The Cougars were eligible to compete as a team at the conference championship for the third time in school history and the second year in a row, after competing as individuals the first year.
“It was an attitude and the way that they carried themselves,” head coach Gerrod Chadwell said in a news release. “It was just a different level of focus. There was an easiness in everything that they did over the last two days.”
UH shot +2 over par as a team, finishing at +30 over par for the event, 10 strokes better than the next-best finisher, the 32nd-ranked East Carolina University Pirates.
Sophomore Yuka Kajiki shot -1 under par for the day, bringing her three-round total to +7 over par and putting her in a tie for fifth place.
Sophomore Megan Thothong dropped one stroke but still finished in the top 10, clinching a solo 8th-place finish with an +8 over par tournament score.
In her first postseason play as a member of the Cougars, freshman Leonie Harm finished +9 over par for the championship, earning a tie for 9th overall.
Junior Emily Gilbreth and senior Raegan Bremer rounded out the Cougars’ team, finishing in 14th and a tie for 18th respectively, with Gilbreth shooting +11 over par and Bremer shooting +16 over par.
The Cougars started the tournament in seventh place after the first day of play but mounted an epic comeback in the second round, improving by 32 strokes over the first day. Chadwell said that was one of the best performances he’s experienced.
“These young women have bought in, and they are coachable,” Chadwell said. “They are resilient, especially today. To not be shaken from the first day and play one of the best rounds I have ever seen the next day is a testament to them.”
Chadwell went on to say that the team achieved something great besides just winning a conference title.
“It’s hard to follow a great round with a good round,” Chadwell said. “But they played in the Final Round with a lead, and they increased it. I don’t know if I can put a word on what’s going on, but it’s just as much the ladies at home pushing our young women who competed here this week.”
With the conference tournament concluded, the Cougars await their NCAA-postseason fate, which will be announced Monday at 5 p.m. on the NCAA Selection Show on the Golf Channel.
