The Brownsville Porter girls golf team is ready to head back to the regional tournament for the second straight year.
Yessenia Medellin, Atriana Anderson, Danila Longoria, Eris Hinojosa and Eva Hernandez are the girls competing in the tournament. They are coached by Randy Medina and Crystal Schmalzried.
“When I got here, there was no program,” Medina said. “We have been stocking equipment, supplies and just getting kids to keep coming out. We went from three to five, then 13 and now 15 kids this year. We are graduating five, so we need to go out and recruit.”
Because there are no golf programs at the middle school level in Brownsville, most kids that go to Porter experience golf for the first time. Medina handles the technical aspect of the team and Schmalzried the mental part.
“Because all of these kids are highly intelligent, they tend to overanalyze things and are a little more emotional, so I deal with that aspect of the game,” Schmalzried said.
Both have a college background in sports.
At the District 32-5A tournament, the girls finished second.
“I am very excited to go again and play with my teammates,” Medellin said. “We have a great bond together.”
The sophomore shot a 101 on the first day and a 100 on the second day. Her coaches said Medellin constantly improves and has a great future in the sport.
Hinojosa also shot a 201 at the tournament and is excited to finish off her senior year with a regional trip.
“It was a good experience last year, we had a lot of fun,” she said. “We bonded a lot.”
Longoria pointed out the improvement of the team compared to last year and plans to pick up the sport as a hobby after high school.
“This is my last year,” said Longoria, who is also a senior. “I am trying to make the best out of it.”
Said Anderson, “It feels great to go. I am kind of sad that it is my last year. I started golf late, my junior year, so I only got to compete these two years.”
Anderson said the coaches really helped her catch up.
“Do not stop until you make it, because you never know,” she said.
This is Eva Hernandez’s first year on the golf team. The sophomore learned a lot this year.
“I have gone through a lot of problems on the course,” she said. “My coaches have helped me a lot on my game and personally because it gets to me.”
The team will depart Tuesday for the regional tournament.
