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TCU women's golf looks to continue momentum Horned Frogs begin NCAA Regional play May 10
May 1, 2007
Horned Frogs look to continue momentum at NCAA Regionals by Kailey Delinger The TCU women's golf team's comeback win in the 2007 Mountain West Conference Championship may have been exciting for fans but, for the team, it was just a pit stop en route to the national championship. The Frogs came back from a six-stroke deficit April 21 in St. George, Utah, to beat Brigham Young University in the final round and win the conference championship. While the accomplishment was exciting, head coach Angie Ravaioli-Larkin said coming back to upset 15th-ranked BYU wasn't too daunting a task for the No. 23 Frogs. "Six strokes is nothing in golf," she said. "That really wasn't the issue. The issue was to go out and play our game -- to put some pressure on BYU and see how they responded." TCU senior Catherine Matranga, who finished fourth in the tournament, agreed. "I think we thought the deficit was good for us," Matranga said. "It kind of takes the pressure off. It's a lot harder to keep your lead than it is to rally from behind." Even if the comeback wasn't too dramatic, the win was something to remember, Ravaioli-Larkin said. "Anytime you win a conference championship, it's huge," she said. "It means a lot to the program and the girls -- especially the seniors." Senior and top-10 finisher Camille Blackerby echoed her coach's sentiments as she talked about her team's trip to the NCAA Regional. "I think the win definitely gives everyone more confidence," Blackerby said. "BYU is ranked in the top 15, New Mexico is in the top 20 and we beat them both. So it gives everyone a lot of confidence even if we aren't ranked as high." Ravaioli-Larkin's reflection on how the conference championship will impact the team's regionals mindset, however, was less generous. "I don't think the win has changed our mindset," she said. "Our ultimate goal all year has been to play in the national championship and put ourselves in a position to win a national championship. This is just one of our goals along the way." Still, as Blackerby put it, the conference win has made an irrevocable impression on her and her teammates. "Every tournament you have so many fond memories," she said, "But winning the conference championship is something that nobody can ever take away. It's what the five of us will always have to kind of bond us together."
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