In first full year in D-I and without key player, Tarleton State women punch NCAA regional ticket

Yahoo

26-04-2025

After leading Tarleton State to its first Western Athletic Conference title last Wednesday in its first season as a full-fledged Division-I women's golf program, Texans head coach Isabel Jimenez logged onto her Facebook and was greeted by a similar memory.
On that date, April 16, back in 2013, Jimenez was a standout freshman from Madrid on Tarleton State's squad, then D-II, that captured a sixth straight Lone State Conference Championship.
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'If that's not meant to be, what is?' said Jimenez, who went immediately from her four-time All-American playing career to coaching the Texans, first as an assistant and then as the successor to longtime Tarleton head coach Jerry Doyle in 2018.
'It's super meaningful,' Jimenez continued. 'I'm very proud of this team, and I'm so happy that I decided to come here over a decade ago. It's crazy how life evolves.'
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It took four seasons for Tarleton to complete its transition to D-I. For the first two seasons, the Texans could only send individuals to the WAC Championship. Two years ago, they placed 10th in their WAC Championship debut before improving to fifth last season.
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Winning conference this spring was always the expectation, even before Tarleton recorded a win and four runner-up finishes in its first six events. But in early March, the Texans suffered a huge blow when Mathilde Brogens, a senior from Denmark who is the only player on the roster who has been at Tarleton since that first transition year, injured her right foot. Brogens was the team's third-ranked player with a win and two other to-10s at the time of her injury, which will keep her out the rest of the season.
Despite being in a walking boot, Brogens has continued to travel as the non-competing sixth player.
'I told her, yes, you're not finishing the season like you'd want, you're not competing, but what you've been doing for these past four years is why we're here,' Jimenez said.
With Brogens out, the rest of the Texans, no true freshmen among them, have stepped up collectively, especially Louise Depadt. A sophomore from France, Depadt enters regionals having posted seven straight top-5 finishes, including a four-shot victory at the WAC Championship, which Tarleton won by three shots over Abilene Christian despite senior Elle Fox withdrawing during the first round after she struck a root, leaving the Texans without the luxury of a drop score that day. Juniors Darianys Guzman and Rebeca Fernandez shot opening rounds of 2 over and 3 over, respectively.
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'Something changed in the air [following Brogens' injury],' Jimenez said. 'Even before that, they already understood that they could win, and that built up more and more, and once Mat got injured, they realized, ok, we either step up or we cannot continue this success. And Louise, she's put the team on her back, especially this past month.'
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Ranked 118th nationally and likely an 11th seed at one of six 12-team regional sites, Tarleton is undoubtedly a longshot to advance to the program's first NCAA Championship. Jimenez realizes as much, but that doesn't mean the Texans won't give it their best shot.
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Plus, there is a sliver of history on Tarleton's side. Since the six-regional format was adopted in 2022, no 10 or 12 seeds have advanced through to nationals. However, an 11 seed has – Augusta in 2023.
'We need to worry about us, not what's around us, not who's playing with us,' Jimenez said. 'But it'll be tough, especially at regionals where there are great teams and players all around you. It's going to be a tough environment, but as long as we stay focused and keep doing what we've been doing, why not? We're going to give a try. It's not going to be easy, not at all, but we are already proud.'