DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Carina Hernandez was 6 when she fell in love with golf.
Watching a tournament on TV with her father Ray, who had fallen into a deep slumber, Hernandez was mesmerized by what she saw. The vibrant greens, the calm chill, the intensity. The importance riding on every shot.
“I ended up sitting through the entire tournament and once he woke up, I was excited,” Hernandez said. “I was like, ‘I want to try that!’ And he played in high school, so of course he immediately bought three little clubs and started teaching me.”
The reward, so far, has been grand. The Sharyland Pioneer junior will compete at the UIL Class 5A golf tournament starting Monday at Wolfdancer Golf Club in Lost Pines, about 23 miles outside of Austin. Hernandez finished sixth with a two-day score of 150 at last week’s regional meet in San Antonio to earn the second of three individual qualifying spots to state.
Hernandez made the move north from Sharyland High prior to this school year, along with former Sharyland High girls coach Susan Lopez, who now coaches the girls and boys at Pioneer. Hernandez is humble when talking about this year’s goals. Lopez, however, is more direct.
“We wanted a trip to (state). Absolutely,” Lopez said. “Last year, she went as an alternate to state, and I told her, ‘Hey, next year you’re going to be playing the state tournament.’
“Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.”
Under Lopez’s tutelage, as well as coaching from Ray, who played at Mercedes High, and Nick Cantu, Hernandez quickly became the face of Pioneer’s program.
Lopez emphasizes “holistic learning.” Every practice drill is game-specific. At the range, players focus on ball placement and visualize the fairway. When they’re chipping, players are doing “up and down,” simulating greens and getting up and close to the hole.
It makes sense, then, that accuracy has become the strength of Hernandez’s game.
“The accuracy getting to the green was a big thing for me,” she said. “I wanted to be able to be right next to the pin on approach shots instead of having to chip on or have really long putts. I definitely saw that improvement.”
In Hernandez, Lopez has her hardest worker. It’s also the ideal foundational piece on which to establish a program, something Lopez did at Sharyland High and is now doing again.
“I’ve built a program from nothing before, and I figured I’d be the right one to make that move (to Pioneer),” Lopez said. “Carina was a bonus. I have a small group of kids I’m working with, but Carina is a player. I knew she’d be the one I’d invest most of my time in this year, and then we’d continue to build from that as a program.”
Hernandez was a regional qualifier the previous two years under Lopez at Sharyland High. She went with the Lady Rattlers to the state tournament as an alternate last season — Sharyland High’s second of three straight state appearances — and took advantage of the opportunity.
“I was able to observe and be the follower,” Hernandez said. “It helped me take on the role as a leader this year, because I saw how last year’s girls did it. I was able to set the example because I had such good role models.”
Now Hernandez is the role model, ready for the biggest stage of her young career so far.
“I’m just hoping to shoot my best again and come in with two scores that will make my coaches proud and represents my school well,” Hernandez said. “I had the same approach going into regionals. Going to state was just a hope. When I was playing, I was just playing the next shot.
“That has to be my focus.”