It’s tough to say anything other than good things about a team which won its fifth consecutive Big West Conference title this season. It becomes nearly impossible to nitpick when four of the six players got Big West recognition and the coach was given Big West Conference Coach of the Year.
The UC Davis women’s golf team has been a standard for excellence for quite a while now and continued their strong showing this season. Head coach Anna Temple has created an environment of excellence and improvement this year, as the Aggies managed to breeze their way through the Big West tournament.
Three UC Davis players — sophomore Betty Chen, junior Beverly Vatananugulkit and freshman Paige Lee — were named to the All-Big West first team because of their outstanding play this season. Sophomore Andrea Wong was an honorable mention and rounded out the group of Aggie players who got Big West recognition.
The team was excellent throughout the year, racking up six top-three team finishes in 13 tournaments this season. Highlights included first place team finishes in the Hoosier Fall Invitational at Bloomington, Ind. and the Big West championships held in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The Big West championships were especially impressive, with the Aggies beating second-place finisher Cal State Northridge by 16 strokes. The large margin of victory marked the fifth consecutive year the Aggies have won the Big West Championships by at least 13 strokes.
“It means a tremendous amount to win our fifth consecutive Big West Championship,” coach Temple said. “It’s always special to win conference and this year was a unique experience.”
UC Davis’ players each played extremely well individually and guided the team to victory. Vatananugulkit led the way, finishing third in the competition individually, shooting a 1-over 220.
UC Davis unfortunately placed 12th in the NCAA Regionals and did not advance. However, with all three of their All-Big West first team members returning, the Aggies should once again continue their winning ways next season.
The complete dominance that the women’s golf team displayed this season is why they are The Aggie’s Women’s Team of the Quarter.
KENNETH LING can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
