Hokie ClubIn the building of anything successful, a strong foundation must be laid, followed by the occurrence of numerous steps and the achieving of milestones. In Carol Robertson's building of the Virginia Tech women's golf program, this tried and true formula has been met. The most recent milestone occurred Sunday, Oct. 6 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
This program, one that has seen a remarkable rise from its infancy in 2015, has enjoyed many memorable accomplishments — its first signing class, its first trip to the NCAA Regionals, a follow-up trip to the NCAAs the next season, Elizabeth Bose becoming the first Hokie to win an individual tournament title, and Amanda Hollandsworth advancing to the NCAA Championship round. These milestones have been meaningful and, to a certain extent, fairly rapid.
On that Sunday in the Tidewater area of the Commonwealth, Tech achieved another meaningful step in the process. The Hokies picked up their first team victory in program history, winning the Princess Anne Invitational held at the Princess Anne Country Club. The Hokies tied LSU for the team title, and Emily Mahar claimed her first individual title.
"I think the fact of the win that means the most is that it was accomplished," Robertson said. "We've sniffed around a win a couple of times, especially this season in our first tournament. It's not even just about the win. It's about the big moments and seeing them through."
Robertson used the moment and the tournament as a teaching moment, as is her norm — ever looking to improve across the board.
"The night before we said, 'Let's call a spade, a spade'," Robertson said. "Sometimes we haven't talked about these big moments, but I think it's time to talk about it. If somebody has something to say, let's do it because we are all in this together. We all want it. We're all human, so our brains are going to go best-case scenario and also go to worst-case scenario. Let's just talk about it. Everybody was ready, seemed very positive, and was excited about another opportunity for a big moment."
Robertson always looks not just to the moment at hand, but also the future with this program, and the Sunday in Virginia Beach spoke to both. It meant a lot not only to the team, but to many others, especially the team's supporters.
"It was fantastic to accomplish the first win in our home state in front of many Hokie supporters and parents," Robertson said. "I'm confident this is the start of many great things ahead for this program, but we are all thrilled we broke a barrier and ground out this victory."
With Mahar's individual victory, she became the third Hokie to accomplish the feat, joining Bose (in the 2017 Hurricane Invitational) and teammate Keera Foocharoen, who won last fall at the Alexa Stirling Invitational. Mahar has a great perspective on what her win means, not just personally, but to the team as a whole.
"I think that the win, both for myself and the team, we now know that we can do that," Mahar said. "We don't have to be afraid of anything anymore. Knowing that even the little changes that we've put in at practice, that may not be big, just maybe putt for 10 minutes instead of five minutes, just that five minutes extra … we know now that, if you keep doing that same thing, you're going to get those same results. If we do a little more, those results are going to be even better. I think it just gives us a good baseline that we are at that point now and to keep doing it."
"Once we get over the hurdle, it's not necessarily a restart, but a look back and realize what we have done and what we can do," Mahar continued. "Now, the sky is still the limit. Just because we won one tournament doesn't mean that's the last one."
Collegiate golf is a different type of sport. It's both a team and an individual event, and there are positives to be taken on both sides. Robertson sees the team aspect perhaps more off the course than during a tournament.
"Balancing the team versus individual dynamic in golf is crucial," Robertson said. "As a team, they need to push each other off the course and encourage each other during practice and playing at home. The little extra nudges on putting in extra work and challenging each other to competitions is where the togetherness and toughness of a team as a whole will rise. Everyone serves a very important role. I feel all nine this year are doing what they can to contribute to the team as a whole."
The entirety of the program felt the tension of the moment, as the tournament drew to a close.
"I had no idea of anything. I didn't even know that," Mahar said. "I had a decent length par putt on the last hole, and I had no idea that not only was the par putt to win individually, but for the team to tie for the win."
"On the eighteenth green, I walked up to the team and asked them if they knew what was happening," Robertson said. "They said, 'Yes, we know'. At that point, LSU had made two long putts for birdie and we had made a bogey and a par. Emily was the only player left to play and we were tied with LSU. The LSU player had hit it to ten feet and Emily had to get up and down from roughly fifty yards. Emily hits a great shot to leave herself an eight footer. LSU barely missed the putt to leave the door open for the Hokies to get their first win. Emily knocks it in the back of the hole and the girls charged towards her to celebrate. It was an intense moment knowing how after fifty four holes, it all came down to Emily's putt."
Mahar saw the team vibe in Virginia Beach, especially toward the end of the final round. Each player doing their best includes supporting and pulling for their teammates. Mahar knows that the support of her teammates, others in the athletics department, and the fans made that Sunday in Tidewater special.
"Jess [Spicer] and Nora [Wrenger] came to my 17th hole and were on the green of 17 while I was putting," Mahar said. "I thought. 'Nice, they are here, and something good must be about to happen.' Then I was also like, 'Something is about to happen.' I had to come back to reality a little bit and be 'one shot at a time' and not try to get ahead of myself. I could feel that it was probably good, or just close, when they came out to 17.
"It really shows that everybody cares about one another — that we want the best, not only for the team, but for each other. I saw Coach [Brian] Sharp [the Tech men's golf coach] in the indoor facility the other day, and he said that the guys were on the way back from their tournament, and they were all clicking refresh [on their phones and laptops] to see what we were doing. Just to know, not only is it our team on the golf course that wants us to do the best, but the girls that were still at home wanting us to do the best, and our men's team also really anxious to see what we were doing."
The benefit of a strong team unit is at the forefront of everything the Hokies do, both on and off the course. Yes, if everyone posts great scores every tournament, then the team wins, but the ability to get to that point is very team-driven.
The coaching staff has seen great success on the course of late, but the type of student-athlete recruited has shown an equal amount, if not even more success off the course. From day one, long before the Virginia Tech women's golf team ever competed in a tournament, this program has competed, and won, in the classroom and in the community.
"While I certainly love their success on the course, they also constantly impress me with their dedication to academics," Robertson said. "They have chosen very challenging majors that are time-consuming and take a strong drive to stay balanced with both golf and school. It helps them keep priorities on where to spend their time wisely meanwhile still allowing time for friendships and striving to get the full Virginia Tech experience."
The milestones this team and program have hit in less than five years is somewhat remarkable, but no one on the inside is surprised. It's cliché, but hard work and dedication do pay off, as do scholarship, sportsmanship and friendship.
The Virginia Tech women's golf program is a star on the rise. But by no means, a shooting star. This program is built to last.