Cowgirls golfers ready for regional

The Brownsville Porter girls golf team is small in numbers and experience, but their quality of play is putting the program back on the map.

Atriana Anderson, Eris Hinojosa, Daniela Longoria and Yessenia Medellin will be representing Porter at the Class 5A regional golf tournament today and Tuesday at the Hyatt Hill Country Club in San Antonio. It will be the first time in 42 years the Cowgirls have advanced to the regional tournament.

“It means a lot because everyone thinks of Porter as a bad place, like nobody accomplishes anything here. But for us to finally break the cycle of not going to regionals, it means a lot. We’re letting them know that we’re not at the bottom,” Anderson said.

The Cowgirls earned a second-place finish at the District 32-5A meet to advance, shooting a combined two-day total of 877. Anderson, a junior who picked up golf on a whim this year, was Porter’s top finisher at district, taking ninth place. Medellin, a freshman, was 10th. Hinojosa and Longoria were 11th and 14th, respectively.

Most teams have five golfers and get to drop a low score, but with only four girls on the squad, each Porter golfer has to be at her best at every tournament. The Cowgirls use that pressure as a good thing, and coach Randy Medina said their positivity, commitment and discipline is what makes this team different and helped reset the standard for the program.

“They committed to what coach (Crystal Schmalzried) and I were teaching. They bought in and worked hard every day, and it paid off in the end,” Medina said. “It’s a challenge (being only four) because there’s a little more pressure on them, but it gives them the opportunity to go out there and perform. They really support each other. That’s one of the biggest things I can say about them, is they do have a very positive mindset, and that within itself is all we need and that will boost them throughout the tournament.”

As a junior two-year letterwinner, Hinojosa used her experience to keep the rookies focused and positive. She praised her teammates for their strong play right out of the gate, which helped the Cowgirls earn a team title at the Mercedes Invitational in March. Hinojosa was nervous heading into the district tournament but believed in herself and her teammates, and now is looking forward to taking on the next round.

“I wasn’t expecting (to advance). I knew we could do it, though, because we had been doing really good the past tournaments,” Hinojosa said. “I try to be positive and I tell (the new girls) that they do good. They’re a lot better than I was my first year. … To represent Porter at regionals is a big deal. It is super exciting.”

Medellin said the positive and family environment in the Porter golf program has made her freshman season “a great experience.” She feels she has improved and grown a lot throughout the season, and the work she put in was evident when she had her best outing of the season at the district meet. Now, she’s ready to keep building with her team.

“At first I was very nervous. I thought I was going to be pretty horrible. All the practice has been worth it,” Medellin said. “Before I hit, I just try to stay relaxed and stay calm. … I just try to do my best like all the girls, and I try to motivate them the way they do for me.”

Longoria, also a junior, picked up golf this year with Anderson because the friends were looking for something to do. Both said they’ve grown and become mentally stronger because of the challenges that come with the game.

They credited the Porter coaches for finding each girl’s weakness and focusing on fixing those things in practice to make them better golfers. Longoria said her game has improved a lot throughout the season, and she credited that development to the Porter coaches. Medina and Schmalzried have been focusing on certain weaknesses at practice the last two weeks to get the Cowgirls ready to take on their biggest stage yet.

“They’re constantly looking for tips and new ways to show us how to improve. I try my best to do the techniques at home to work on myself and get ready for practice the next day,” Longoria said. “It took a while to settle in that (advancing to the regional tournament) was really something worth congratulating. It was an awesome experience. I think it just shows how hard we work and how hard our coaches work, and the dedication we all put in.”