The CSU East Bay Women’s golf team has a huge goal this season: make it to the postseason tournament for the first time in the program’s history.

The team started their campaign off well with a win at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, a home tournament held at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo.

The victory came by three strokes over second place team CSU Monterey Bay at the tournament.

Andrea Castellanos shooting an even par first round of 72 helped increase CSUEB’s chances of winning the tournament after the first day.

“I was really comfortable on Saturday,” said Castellanos. “I felt really relaxed and confident with my game. I was hitting shots where I wanted and I had the speed of the greens down perfectly.”

Golf is a game where you have to be mentally prepared and you must trust every shot, said Castellanos.

“Every time I got up to a shot or putt I trusted it and it turned out how I wanted,” said Castellanos. “It was one of those days where I felt like all parts of my game were on and came together.”

Performances like this will be integral to the run that the team hopes to make in order to reach the postseason.

“Getting to the postseason is a goal we are looking forward to reaching and I think our team is very motivated to get there,” said Linda Brown, a sophomore on the team.

Brown shot a first round of 78 and second round of 80 which kept the team score consistent to help CSUEB keep the win for the second day.

When asked what these women need to do in order to meet the goal of a postseason, “Consistency,” said Head Coach Alan Sue. “They all have the talent to have individual success and team success. It’s about them all making smart decisions on the golf course and working on their weaknesses in practice.”

Castellanos and Brown kept a cool head throughout and were consistent, which helped the team win the tournament.

“I expect that they will compete for top five finishes in all of the events; which, in turn, would give them a great opportunity for a selection to the Regional Championship,” said Sue.

Sue has such high expectations due in large part to the golf team’s vigorous training. Their work out program consists of circuit training, twice a week, which is one completion of all prescribed exercises in the program. Once finished, you repeat the circuit again.

The women’s team completes the circuit four times; it is a rapid, moving circuit with little rest, which improves cardiovascular function and builds muscle.

Besides making sure they are physically fit to play golf, they also have to practice four days a week, for five hours each day, Monday through Thursday. A typical week will consist of the team playing eighteen holes for three of those days and spending the other day practicing on the driving range and putting green.

The women’s golf team has a dual season each year; they have a season in the fall and in the spring. The women just started their spring season and based on the fall season, Sue thinks they will find success.

“Our team had a good fall season, beating some top 20 teams,” said Sue. “Regardless, I always think my student-athletes can play better, but it was a good start.”

The team will be traveling to multiple tournaments this season; including Point Loma in San Diego, St. Edward’s in Texas, Chico State University, Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Sonoma State University.

The tournaments are all “equally important, as we will face fields heavy with regional opponents, who we are in competition with us for a spot at the regional championship,” said Sue.

The coaches have tough decisions to make regarding who is entered in each competition. They hold qualifying rounds to determine who is playing at top forum and qualified to compete in the upcoming tournament. This motivates the women to stay on their toes and practice hard to improve their score and ensure they are able to travel.

“Qualifying puts them into tournament-like rounds and shows me who is currently playing well. There are seven players who are competing for the five traveling spots”, said Sue. “We will be playing several qualifying rounds in which there is a tournament-like intensity.”

Sue has to recruit students and chooses athletes based upon the person’s interest in the school and by finding them in junior golf associations.

“My initial evaluation is based on golfing ability/potential and academics. If I foresee them as a potential team member, I find out if there is mutual interest and plan for them to visit,” said Sue. “I really get a sense of what type of person they are when we have in-person meetings. After that, I usually know if I want to pursue them to play at CSUEB.”

Once he recruits the students for the team, the women have to practice hard and play well during each of the tournaments they are competing in this season.

Golf means getting the lowest score, not the highest like in other sports. When it comes to scoring, four of the five individual scores are taken to compile the team total and explains why consistency is so important in the game.

Good teams typically score in the low 300s on a regular basis. However, sometimes scores can be higher, as a team or for an individual, because of the weather or condition of the course.

The CSUEB team will be in the running for the spot to go to regional’s as long as they continue on the path they were on in the fall, which was shooting a team low of 302.

The postseason for women’s golf has two tournaments. One is the regional championship, which will have a total of nine teams from the region. If you qualify for the next  tournament you go to the national championship, which shows where you place in the nation as a school.

CSUEB will be battling the Academy of Art, CSU Chico, Sonoma State and University of Hawaii at Hilo for a spot in the postseason. These teams are equal to CSUEB in terms of ability, so what will push the women’s team over the top this year is largely the team’s motivation to make history.

Learning from their previous tournaments will help the team understand what they lacked last year, and how they can improve upon that in order to make it this year.

“I believe that the coaches will put the players in the position to be successful. It will be up to our veteran players and captain, to help motivate and keep the team practicing together in non-team mandated practices,” said Sue. “This is a common thread for many successful teams.”