The football team was not the only group of athletes from Texas to win the Sugar Bowl this season, as the No. 3 women’s golf team captured its first title of the new year at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship on Tuesday.
The Longhorns followed up their top-five finish from two weeks ago in California with a dominant performance in New Orleans as four of the five golfers finished in the top 20, including a top 10 finish from senior Maddie Luitweiler, who did not play in the last tournament. Tuesday’s result was Luitweiler’s first start of the spring, and she made it count.
“I’m super proud of Maddie this week,” head coach Ryan Murphy said. “She’s been working hard on her game and doing everything she can to be her best and to help this team. Tied for eighth in this field is outstanding.”
While no Longhorn finished within the top five, the team was overall very consistent across the week, winning in wire-to-wire fashion.
“It was a terrific team effort this week in tough conditions,” Murphy said. “Everyone contributed and we needed every bit of it. It was a great win against a great field, and I’m proud of this group.”
The Longhorns have relied on their depth throughout the fall and spring semesters. But their performance in New Orleans perhaps best represented their overall strength. With as many as six golfers on the team capable of taking over a tournament at any second, Texas is in a strong position moving into the rest of the season.
That kind of depth chart will pay dividends later on when golfers take time off for tournaments unrelated to Texas’ season.
“I think it’s great that we have such tremendous depth on our team,” sophomore Kaitlyn Papp said. “We’re all able to push each other and be super competitive in practice. It’s just great to have a group of people who have the same goals and vision as you.”
While the team slipped one spot in the rankings following the last tournament, the win should move them right back into the No. 2 spot. If Texas can string together another win or two, it could be the highest ranked team in the country.
Texas has a long break before it resumes tournament play, as the next event will be held on March 12. The team will travel to Kailua, Hawaii, for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in an effort to extend the current win streak.
