By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LAGUNA VISTA — The Los Fresnos girls golf program is on the rise with senior Briana Garza leading the way.
The Lady Falcons won the girls team title with a decisive 44-stroke edge at the District 32-6A tournament earlier this month in Harlingen and Garza was the girls individual medalist, shooting 73-71 — 144.
It was the first time in recent memory for the Lady Falcons to capture a district team title in golf and the first time for Garza to take top honors as the 32-6A individual medalist.
The next challenge for the Los Fresnos girls comes Monday at the two-day Region IV-6A Tournament at Republic Golf Club in San Antonio.
Garza has advanced individually to the regional tournament before, but never with her team.
“I want to play at regionals exactly how I played at district,” Garza said. “Hopefully I can stay focused and make it to the next level, which is the state tournament.
“I’m glad I get to experience my last regional tournament with these girls and see how we finish out the rest of our season,” she added. “It’s much better going (to San Antonio) as a group. There have been many different girls who came to the program to try playing golf and they ended up loving it. We’ve grown (as a program) so much.
“I would just say thank you to my coaches (Luis Gonzalez and Kim Edquist) for a good four years.”
Other members of the Lady Falcons squad are senior Ana Islas, sophomores Brianna Munoz and Josie Garcia and freshmen Kassandra Garcia and Alexandra Montes. Josie and Kassandra are sisters.
“We have a really good team that is playing in a really good district,” said Gonzalez, who is completing his fifth year as the Lady Falcons’ coach. “We’re providing girls with an opportunity to play golf here in the Valley, and it’s only getting better. We want to start letting them know even at a younger age that golf is an opportunity for them. It takes hard work, but it is possible (to do well).
“It’s taken four years to build up this team and we’re very proud of this group,” he added. “It’s taken the youth of my freshmen and sophomores to go with my seniors leading the pack. There’s a good balance. There’s been growth and experience to help us play at a competitive level. These girls came ready to play (well) this year. They understood the pressures and responsibilities they were going to face. (It helps that) we have a lot of support from the community and our administration.”
As the Lady Falcons played a practice round Thursday afternoon at South Padre Island Golf Club, there was a feeling of anticipation and confidence for what they might accomplish at next week’s regional tournament.
“It’s been a good experience winning district and bonding with this team,” Munoz said. “We’ve played separately and come together (to do well). We just have to focus on playing our game and work together at the same time (in San Antonio).
“It’s been a hard-working year, and at the end of the day, we won district and made it to regionals,” she added. “That’s all we could ask for.”
The girls realize they are helping build a foundation of success for the future.
“I’m very grateful to be a part of this amazing team,” Josie Garcia said. “I’ve learned a lot and met so many new people, and I really love it.
“Thank you everyone for a great year, and I hope we have many more to come.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess