{"id":259960,"date":"2026-04-21T19:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/259960\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:48:08","slug":"from-spain-to-el-paso-yrizar-finds-her-swing-at-utep-the-prospector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/259960\/","title":{"rendered":"From Spain to El Paso, Yrizar finds her swing at UTEP \u2013 The Prospector"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the beaches of San Sebastian, Spain, to the fairways of El Paso, Texas, freshman Blanca Yrizar is halfway through her first year on the University of Texas at El Paso\u2019s (UTEP), women\u2019s Golf team.<\/p>\n

Growing up in an athletic family, Yrizar says that she and her two siblings were always encouraged to stay active. Both her father and uncle coached tennis, while nearly everyone on her mother\u2019s side played golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents were both very athletic. They\u2019ve always pushed the three of us to play lots of sports. They need to see us doing something.\u201d Yrizar said.<\/p>\n

After spending years practicing sports like tennis and surfing, Yrizar added that constant tension from being coached by family members in tennis would eventually push her towards golf, where she could develop more independently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always surfed during the summers and winters, and then I always played tennis, because my dad played tennis and my uncle is still a coach right now, but I just didn\u2019t like having my dad as a coach,\u201d Yrizar said. \u201cOn my mom\u2019s side, everybody plays golf, so I feel like I\u2019ve always been playing golf and tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time she was ready to enter colleg,e Yrizar learned about UTEP through another Spanish player who she played with a year prior and was officially introduced to the program after head coach Steve Sims reached out to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know that UTEP existed. That same evening, Coach Sims texted me. The next day, I saw Marta, and I started asking her questions. I wanted to come to UTEP,\u201d Yrizar said.<\/p>\n

Since arriving in El Paso, Yrizar said adjusting to life on her own has been one of the biggest challenges. Living on campus meant learning everyday tasks like cooking, doing her laundry and ensuring she woke up early enough for her 5:30 a.m. workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was going to be harder, honestly. Back home, I would always be surrounded by my parents. It\u2019s been very different,\u201d Yrizar said. \u201cWith my teammates, I feel like I\u2019m not the only one. Honestly, I didn\u2019t even have time to be homesick, because we were always practicing, traveling and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the course, Yrizar has quickly made an impact in her first collegiate season. Competing in nearly every tournament across the 2025-2026, earning consistent spots in the lineup. Her performances included an eighth-place finish at the West Texas Classic and a third-place finish at the Ozarks National Invitational in Missouri where she remained competitive despite difficult decisions.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"From
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tComing from a family of athletes, freshman Blanca Yrizar\u2019s parents pushed her into playing sports, leading to her eventually finding her love for golf.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cI placed third the last tournament, and I was eighth, I think, two tournaments ago. It was very windy, and the last day, it was a bit harder, but I played very good. The field wasn\u2019t the hardest one, but I still did a good job for that way,\u201d Yrizar said.<\/p>\n

Another adjustment and highlight for Yrizar has been her playing as part of a team rather than individually.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack home we would always practice by ourselves. So, practicing here every single day, with the other girls, I was excited. I was looking forward to that,\u201d Yrizar said.<\/p>\n

As the season continues, Yrizar said she\u2019s optimistic and looking forward to their next tournament, in Maricopa, Arizona. And after contributing to a team victory in the BGSU Women\u2019s intercollegiate event earlier in the season, Yrizar\u00a0has her sights set on earning her first individual college win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWinning a tournament\u00a0would\u00a0be very cool right now. This last tournament I ended up third without playing\u00a0very, very good\u00a0the last day. I hit lots of greens the last day, but I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0make pots, so\u00a0I think I\u00a0was\u00a0very close,\u201d\u00a0Yrizar\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With several strong finishes under her belt and a full season ahead,\u00a0Yrizar\u00a0continues to build momentum as she adjusts to college competition and a life in a new country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jewel Ocampo is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From the beaches of San Sebastian, Spain, to the fairways of El Paso, Texas, freshman Blanca Yrizar is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-259960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}