{"id":300474,"date":"2026-05-19T23:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/300474\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:36:11","slug":"defying-the-odds-womens-golfs-road-to-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/300474\/","title":{"rendered":"Defying the odds: Women\u2019s golf\u2019s road to nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUBBOCK, Texas \u2013\u00a0Defying expectations\u00a0and\u00a0staying\u00a0the course\u00a0has become a defining\u00a0characteristic\u00a0for the Texas Tech women’s golf team\u00a0this season.\u00a0From\u00a0winning the Red Raider Invitational\u00a0on its home course\u00a0in September to\u00a0a last-place finish\u00a0in Las\u00a0Vegas\u00a0during\u00a0the first week of March,\u00a0earning a trip to\u00a0this week’s\u00a02026\u00a0NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0universally\u00a0anticipated\u00a0but\u00a0remained\u00a0an attainable goal. In\u00a0some\u00a0ways,\u00a0the uncharted path to the national tournament in Carlsbad, California, reflects\u00a0untraditional journeys for the\u00a0golfers\u00a0who\u00a0have continued to\u00a0represent\u00a0the program\u00a0with a\u00a0positive mindset\u00a0and confidence.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had an up and down season but a lot of high moments,” Texas Tech senior Lauren Zaretsky<\/a> said. “We have\u00a0a nothing\u00a0to lose mentality.\u00a0We’re\u00a0always\u00a0going\u00a0to give it our all.”<\/p>\n

Zaretsky, the lone senior\u00a0in the lineup,\u00a0hasn’t\u00a0looked back since putting away her squash\u00a0racquet\u00a0and picking up garage sale golf clubs. A top-ranked youth squash player in Canada, her club folded when she was 12 years old \u2013 a business reality that led to her parents randomly pulling over at a garage sale and buying her first golf clubs. A trip to a driving range resulted in drives of\u00a0220 yards\u00a0on her first swings, and now she is\u00a0finishing\u00a0her collegiate career at the NCAA Championships. “The owner of the public course asked me how long I’ve been\u00a0playing\u00a0and I told him this was the first time,” she said. “If it\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0for the garage\u00a0sale,\u00a0I\u00a0don’t\u00a0know if\u00a0I’d\u00a0be playing golf. I fell\u00a0in love with the game.”<\/p>\n

A week ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zaretsky and her Texas Tech teammates\u00a0shocked many when they\u00a0celebrated together\u00a0by holding\u00a0up a “Ticket Punched” sign after they\u00a0went from an eighth seed in the regional\u00a0to advance.\u00a0It’s\u00a0the fifth time in program history\u00a0to reach the national tournament\u00a0and the second for Zaretsky \u2013 a senior from Toronto,\u00a0Ontario, who earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors and is\u00a0the team’s highest-ranked individual at\u00a0No. 67\u00a0by\u00a0Clippd. The Red Raiders went into the Ann Arbor Regional\u00a0needing to\u00a0finish fifth or better to advance \u2013 a feat they\u00a0accomplished\u00a0by starting strong\u00a0in the opening two rounds\u00a0and holding off No. 14 UCF, which made a charge but finished two back.
\n\"Women's
\nTexas Tech “punched their ticket” at NCAA Ann Arbor Regional
\n
\n“We didn’t play our best at regionals but clinching a spot to go to nationals means a lot to me,” Zaretsky said. “I know we have more in us. We stayed consistent and never gave up during\u00a0regionals. It was\u00a0probably the\u00a0toughest course we played all year. Super hilly and tough greens. We did a great\u00a0job of\u00a0staying present. We struggled on the last\u00a0day\u00a0and I\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0even looking at the leaderboard. It was a long week and\u00a0hike\u00a0but it was\u00a0definitely worth it\u00a0to get to go to where\u00a0we’re\u00a0going now.”<\/p>\n

Along with Zaretsky, the Red Raiders will be represented by Maja Ambroziak<\/a>, Cameron Freund<\/a>, Denisa Vodickova<\/a>\u00a0and Klara Hurtova<\/a>\u00a0at the OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa when the opening round begins on Friday. A 30-team field will be cut down to 15 after three rounds with stroke play on Monday and the top eight teams advancing to match play on Tuesday and Wednesday to\u00a0determine\u00a0the national champion. Texas Tech, which is back in the national tournament for the first time since 2023, will look to defy rankings to keep its season going. Despite being the lowest-ranked team in the\u00a0national tournament, Zaretsky says this season has taught them to never give up on themselves and that when they play their best, they can match anyone.<\/p>\n

“We did have some good tournaments that kept our confidence going,” Zaretsky said. “Our tournament in Arizona is the one that really stands out for me. We finished second and Denisa had an individual win.\u00a0I think that\u00a0was our turning point late in the spring. The week before, we were in Las Vegas and came in last place. To turn it around and almost win the tournament gave us a moment and a glimpse\u00a0of what we were capable of.”<\/p>\n

At the regional tournament, Zaretsky and Ambroziak finished tied for eighth after shooting 1-over-par during the 54-hole tournament to help extend the season and position the team for an opportunity to compete at the national tournament.\u00a0Ambroziak, who is from Olsztyn, Poland,\u00a0had two\u00a0top-10\u00a0finishes in the fall but had not\u00a0finished in the\u00a0top-20\u00a0during the spring season before\u00a0the regional, where she shot 2-under in the opening round and 1-under in the second\u00a0to help Tech\u00a0pull the upset.<\/p>\n

“I felt like the second round of the tournament was the best round of golf we’ve played all year,” Texas Tech coach JoJo Robertson<\/a> said. “The third round got a little\u00a0tight\u00a0but I\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0be more excited to be around this\u00a0team\u00a0one more week and play at nationals.\u00a0I think we\u00a0showed that at our best, we can play against anybody. We talked about it as a team that we now have the experience\u00a0to get\u00a0into that top 15 and top 8 at nationals. We know what it takes to have to grind it out and put up some\u00a0pars\u00a0coming in.\u00a0We’re\u00a0going to need the same mindset going into this week.”<\/p>\n

Tech travels three juniors in Ambroziak, Freund and\u00a0Hurtova\u00a0to California while\u00a0Vodickova\u00a0is a sophomore.\u00a0Hurtova\u00a0earned an at-large\u00a0appearance\u00a0to\u00a0last year’s postseason after a sophomore season where she won the Valspar Augusta Invitational and Pinetree Collegiate. A\u00a0Policn\u00e1, Czechia\u00a0native,\u00a0she\u00a0competed in the 2025 NCAA Lubbock Regional but did not advance to the national tournament\u00a0to cap a\u00a0season where she led the team in scoring average. Her journey\u00a0from a municipality of approximately 2,000 in Czechia\u00a0to\u00a0representing\u00a0Tech in the national tournament is another example of\u00a0improbability\u00a0and resilience.\u00a0At the MountainView Collegiate\u00a0in Tucson, Arizona, this season,\u00a0Vodickova\u00a0won the tournament by shooting 9-under and closing out the\u00a0one-shot\u00a0victory with 10 straight pars after making a birdie. A transfer from Wake\u00a0Forest\u00a0who is\u00a0also\u00a0originally from Czechia, she\u00a0walked off the putting green on Monday at the Rawls Golf Course before the team’s final home practice\u00a0round, looking forward to playing in the national tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n

“This is my first\u00a0nationals\u00a0so I’m really excited to play,”\u00a0Vodickova\u00a0said. “I’m\u00a0really looking forward to it. Everyone is ready to do the best they can. I feel confident knowing my teammates are\u00a0great players\u00a0and have all been working\u00a0really hard.”
\n\"Texas
\nTexas Tech finished runner-up at the MountainView Collegiate (March 22), led by Vodickova’s first place finish\u00a0
\n
\nA former walk-on who developed her golf game\u00a0during\u00a0Covid hitting balls at a simulator in her family’s basement, Freund will also be playing in her first national tournament. Back home in Bethesda, Maryland, she started playing golf at age\u00a07 but\u00a0basketball was her main sport. That changed as a\u00a0freshman\u00a0in high school when she\u00a0told her dad she wanted to play college golf. Reality set in when he told her that her 18-handicap\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0going to make it. She worked though. Using the simulator, she went from an 18 handicap to a 12 in a year. Then\u00a0a 12\u00a0to\u00a0a 6, and then\u00a0a scratch. “I just kept working to get better,” she said. This week, Freund brings that underdog mentality to the national tournament \u2013 a belief that she saw\u00a0results in\u00a0last week at regionals.<\/p>\n

“I think it was a benefit\u00a0with\u00a0our seed because we really didn’t have too\u00a0high of\u00a0expectations on us,” Freund said. “We\u00a0knew we were a good enough team to make\u00a0nationals\u00a0but we\u00a0didn’t\u00a0have those expectations. It was a free feeling that let us go out there and have fun. We learned a lot there, especially in the last round about finishing. We held them off and learned a lot about playing under pressure that will be useful in Carlsbad.”<\/p>\n

Zaretsky will need to finish two classes this summer to graduate but will close her Texas Tech career this week. In her final season, Zaretsky led the Red Raiders with a 71.5 scoring average, three\u00a0top-5\u00a0finishes and six\u00a0top-10\u00a0finishes. This will be her second NCAA Championship to compete in, playing in it for the first time as a\u00a0freshman\u00a0in the 2022-23 season. Following this season, Zaretsky plans\u00a0on turning\u00a0professional with her first event already set at the Glencoe Invitational in June at The Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, but is fully invested in helping her team continue to advance in her senior season.<\/p>\n

“We need to play with\u00a0a nothing-to-lose mentality,” Zaretsky said. “This is my last\u00a0ride\u00a0and it means a lot.\u00a0I’ve had a lot of support from a lot of people in a lot of different departments at Tech. The coaches have really embraced me and helped me have the college career I’ve had.\u00a0I’m\u00a0excited about this week but\u00a0I’m\u00a0not ready for it to end.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 TECH\u00a0\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUBBOCK, Texas \u2013\u00a0Defying expectations\u00a0and\u00a0staying\u00a0the course\u00a0has become a defining\u00a0characteristic\u00a0for the Texas Tech women’s golf team\u00a0this season.\u00a0From\u00a0winning the Red Raider…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-300474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300474","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=300474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}