The ULM women’s golf team traveled to Point Clear, Alabama, on April 20-23 for the Sun Belt Conference championship. After three days of outstanding golf, the team walked away with its second conference championship, all under current head coach Rachel Pollock.
On day one, the Warhawks came out strong, staying even par as a team and controlling second place. Standout individuals for ULM were Daniela Campillo, Anna Andrysova and Emma Manzini. Campillo, who was tied for first after round one, shot four under par, and not far behind her was Andrysova, shooting minus one, and in fifth place.
After round two wrapped up on Apr 21, ULM had sole possession of first place with a score of plus 4, having six strokes on second place, Appalachian State. After this round, leading the pack was Campillo again, shooting minus one. In T-8th, it was Andrysova, shooting plus two.
Round three ended the normal portion of the tournament, with ULM still leading second place by nine strokes, this time being South Alabama. Finishing in second place overall individually was Campillo, going minus five. Three Warhawks golfers, Andrysova, Manzini and Zoe McLean-Tattan, finished T-14th, all shooting plus five.
The Warhawks would then move on to the semifinals to play Old Dominion, which finished fourth overall. Andrysova went up against Barbara Car, who won the individual title for the tournament. They ended up tying after Andrysova bogeyed the last two holes, giving up the lead. Campillo faced Puneet Bajwa for her match and ended up winning by two after a five-bogey performance from Bajwa. Johanna Sjursen matched up against Mariana Arronte, whom she easily took care of, winning by three strokes. By far the biggest win of the semifinals was Manzini taking care of Alina Shchepteva by five strokes after 14 holes. McLean-Tattan also won her match against Ludovica Girola by one stroke. This would put ULM in the finals to face off against Texas State, which2 came in third overall.
In the finals, Andrysova took on Briana LeMarie, and won by two after 17 holes. Manzini was paired with Grace Quintanilla, and after being down by two strokes early, came back and won by three. Although she won second overall in the regular tournament, Campillo was outmatched in the finals, losing by four strokes to her opponent, Fia Lindblom. McLean-Tattan led most of the match against Mana Hersperger, until the 16th hole when they tied. On the last hole of their match, McLean-Tattan birdied to get the win and put ULM up 3-1. The last match of the tournament was Sjursen vs Yvonne Chamness. Sjursen was down by one or two strokes throughout holes four through 12, then in the last four holes, came back and won her match by one, and winning the Sun Belt Conference championship for ULM.
A huge reason for the recent success of the ULM women’s golf team is their head coach, Rachel Pollock. In just her second season at ULM (2022-23), Pollock guided ULM to its first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship. The team also made its first NCAA Regional appearance. She reset the ceiling of what the program could be.
Under Pollock, the Warhawks jumped into the Top 100 nationally for the first time in program history. The highest point that the team reached was number 72, which is a huge accomplishment for a mid-major program, such as ULM.
After that season, the team turned into a consistent winner. Under Pollock, the team won five tournaments in one season, which is a program record, and at one point, the team went 52-1-1 in head-to-headmatchups vs. D1 opponents. The team also broke 20-plus more team and individual records, such as scoring average, lowest rounds and lowest 54-hole totals.
The current roster includes players from Spain, Italy, England, Sweden and Canada. Global recruitment is very common in college sports, and Pollock quickly jumped on the trend. This roster has had many individual breakthroughs under Pollock, like tournament wins and record scores, and it shows how she’s developing players and not just collecting talent.
She didn’t just improve ULM, she made them a championship-level program in the Sun Belt conference in a very short time.
