SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 10, 2022) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) golf program looks forward to another impressive spring campaign. The men's team will begin its spring season at the Claude Jacobs Invitational in Victoria, Texas, on Sunday. Head Coach Arnie Martinez returns for his third season at the helm.
Building on success
The men's team placed second in the A.I.I. Conference Tournament last year. Chase White (SR/San Antonio, Texas) and Diego Garcia Hernandez (SR/Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico) both placed in the top 10 in the individual leaderboard. Ceci Lattuada (SO/Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico) hoisted the trophy in the individual competition at the A.I.I. Conference Tournament on the women's side.
Martinez commented, "We have had a great practice environment over the offseason. With all the restrictions due to COVID-19 last year, we worked hard as a unit and came up just short in the conference tournament. We remember how we felt at the end of last season and are using that as fuel for the upcoming tournaments."
Coaching staff
Tony Torres comes back for his second season as the men's assistant coach. Allison Trevino also joins the staff as an assistant coach for the women's team. "Trevino is a new addition to the squad and the women really take to her," Martinez said. "She has a lot of accolades in her playing career and brings a lot of experience to the team."
Returners
The men's team features five seniors and three returners. The Saints also welcome three freshmen to the squad. Raul Gutierrez (SR/San Antonio, Texas), Hernandez, Daniel Jones (SR/Comfort, Texas), Joshua Sturt (SR/Portsmouth, U.K.) and White will be the senior leaders in 2022. Returners include Matthew Cantu (SO/Corpus Christi, Texas), Massimo Garcia (JR/Laredo, Texas), and Sergio Garcia (JR/Kenedy, Texas). Freshmen are Josh Brook (FR/Bournemouth, U.K.), Oliver Gaisford (FR/Canterbury, U.K.) and Brandon Lopez (FR/Floresville, Texas). Raul Gonzalez (SO/McAllen, Texas) joins the team as a sophomore.
The women's squad is a young group with four freshmen and three sophomores. Standout athlete Lattuada will look to continue her impressive 2021 spring and fall 2021 seasons. She is joined by Madelyn Miller (SO/Copperas Cove, Texas) and Christina Trujillo (SO/San Antonio, Texas) in the sophomore class. Alexis Calzada (FR/Georgetown, Texas), Miliani Georges (FR/San Antonio, Texas), Alahnna Limones (FR/Converse, Texas) and Annabelle Reyna (FR/San Antonio, Texas) make up the freshmen group.
Schedule
The men's and women's team compete in multiple events together this season. They first pair at the Schreiner Mountaineer Invitational in Kerrville, Texas, from March 6-8. Both teams will take part in the Grandview Paiute Battle in Las Vegas for the first time. The tournament will run from March 20-22 at the Paiute Golf Resort.
The men's team plays separately in the Claude Jacobs Invitational in Victoria, Texas, Feb. 13-14 to begin the season. Following the tournament, they play locally at the San Antonio Shootout at TPC San Antonio from Feb. 20-22. The Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) Tournament will be at Victoria Country Club from April 17-19.
Queen of the Hill Country Tournament in San Marcos, Texas, will mark the women's first tournament of the spring season. The competition runs from Feb. 27-28. The CAC Conference Tournament will take place in Iowa from May 1-3.
Academics
Martinez places great emphasis on academics for his team members. They have earned NAIA Scholar Team Awards from 2014-2017 and 2018-2021. "We have never had any academic issues with our student-athletes. They know the importance of doing well in the classroom, and we are proud that they have taken their academics seriously."
Message to fans
Martinez encourages fans to attend the tournaments throughout the season. For the fans who are unable to come, the tournaments will have up-to-date live scoring which can be found online on the Saints' social media accounts (@OLLUSaintsAthletics). "Everything will be open to the public as of now," Martinez said. "The athletes will be happy to see some new faces out on the course as they are playing."