Coming off a Big West Conference title and the loss of two key seniors in 2010-11, the Aggies did not miss a beat as they entered the 2011-12 season.
UC Davis opened its season with a first-place finish in the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in September, and followed that up with second place at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.
Overall the Aggies won a total of three tournaments in the 2011-12 season and finished in the top three of three more. UC Davis golfers also finished in the top five on 10 different occasions as individuals.
“It’s all about hard work and competition,” said head coach Anne Walker.
The Aggies were consistent in their play throughout the season, and they completed their campaign with their third straight Big West Championship, as they beat out UC Irvine by the sizeable margin of 13 strokes.
UC Davis then made its way to the NCAA Regional, where it finished 12th.
Overall the Aggies finished the 2011-2012 season ranked 23rd in the National Golf Coaches Association Poll and 31st by golfweek.com.
Possibly the most impressive part of UC Davis’ season, however, is that it was able to accomplish so much with such a young team.
The Aggies did not have a single senior on their roster this season, and their six-player roster included three freshmen — including Big West individual champion Beverly Vatananugulkit.
“The immediate future is looking really great,” Walker said. “We’re really excited. Everyone will be even more experienced and we’re going to bring in some new golfers, so I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully we can set the bar even higher.”
— Trevor Cramer
