PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s golf had a bounce-back 2021-22 season as the Cougars took home three tournament championships, had three student-athletes named all-conference and returned to the NCAA Tournament at the Franklin Regional in Franklin, Tennessee.
“Even though we didn’t play as well as we would have liked in Tennessee, we put together a great season and I couldn’t be prouder of these girls,” said Carrie Roberts, BYU head coach. “We ended up winning three times as a team, Annick [Haczkiewicz] picked up her first individual win and we had three players named to the all-conference team. Overall it was a successful year.”
The Cougars were fast out of the gate in the fall season as they took home back-to-back tournament titles.
At the Dick McGuire Invitational in New Mexico, freshman Lila Galeai, who tied for first at 10-under par, led BYU to a 6-under-par 54-hole total (291-287-280—858) to best the No. 3 ranked San Jose State by six shots for the tournament victory.
“Lila had a great freshman season and was a consistent contributor for us all year,” said Lea Garner, BYU assistant coach. “She has an incredible work ethic and the determination to get better every day, which makes me excited to see how she can help our team improve in the years ahead.”
Freshman Adeline Anderson made the first start of her collegiate career at the Dick McGuire Invitational and immediately made an impact for BYU. Anderson posted rounds of 76-70-73—219 to grab the first top-25 of her young career.
“Adeline was clutch as a freshman,” Roberts said. “She came in and surprised us with some under-par scores that helped us win a couple events early in the year. We are excited about her future, because she will only get better.”
The Cougars followed their season-opening win with a second-straight victory at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (288-283-283—854) at two-under par. Senior Allysha Mae Mateo was the low finisher in a tie for fourth at 1-under-par (71-71-70—212).
“Allysha Mae has been one of our most steady golfers during her four years at BYU,” Garner said. “I am amazed by all she has accomplished both on the course and in the classroom. She is a shining example of a star student-athlete, and I’m excited that we get one more year with her.”
In the win, BYU knocked off two top-30 teams and vaulted themselves into the top-25 rankings for the first time since April 2017.
After two-straight wins, the No. 24 Cougars finished third at The Golfweek Challenge which bumped BYU up a spot in the rankings, entering the final event of the fall campaign. No. 23 BYU took fifth at the Dale McNamara Invitational to complete the fall season ranked in the top-25 with two team wins.
Freshman Alexa Udom competed in three events for BYU during the 2021-22 campaign.
“Alexa played frequently as an individual which gave her some good experience,” Garner said. “She puts in a lot of practice time, and I have no doubt that she will be a leader on this team in the future”
The Cougars began the spring season right where they left off, winning the Texas State Invitational, after shooting 18-over as a team to secure the third team win of the season. Senior Annick Haczkiewicz helped BYU sweep the event as she grabbed the first individual title of her collegiate career, firing rounds of 68-75-68—211 for a 5-under-par total and a three-shot victory.
"I was stoked to see Annick get her first collegiate win this spring," Garner said. "She has worked extremely hard to refine her game, and it was only a matter of time before she would break through."
Haczkiewicz had a break-out year in which she was the low finisher in five of the Cougars 11 tournaments, finished in the top-25 in 9-of-11 events, recorded six top-15 finishes, four top-10s, four top-5s and the win.
“Week-in and week-out, Annick was our most consistent player,” Roberts said. “It seemed like whenever we needed someone to come up big, Annick would come through. She has worked really hard to get to where she is, and to see her get her first college win was emotionally moving.”
The senior from Las Vegas finished fourth at the Dale McNamara Invitational, fourth at the Chambers Bay Invitational and was the runner-up at the WCC Championship.
Following their third win, the Cougars found themselves ranked as the 25th best team in college golf but hit some rough waters as they finished ninth at the Juli Inkster Meadow Club Intercollegiate followed by a 15th-place finish at the Silverado Showdown.
BYU righted the ship by finishing sixth at the Redhawk Invitational where Haczkiewicz finished in solo fourth and Maddie White made her first start of the season.
“Maddie came back from a wrist injury and worked really hard to make the lineup in the spring,” said Roberts. “It will be great to have her back next year to compliment the returning seniors.”
After a three-win regular season, Cougars traveled to Reflection Bay in Las Vegas for the WCC Championship where they posted rounds of 303-310-290—903 to finish runner-up. Haczkiewicz finished second while Mateo and Kerstin Fotu also finished in the top-10.
"Finishing runner-up at the conference tournament definitely wasn’t what we were hoping for but I loved how we fought on the last day," said Roberts. "It was the type of energy we need going into regionals."
After a season with three wins, a runner-up finish at the conference tournament and being ranked as high as 23rd in the country, the Cougars were selected to compete at an NCAA regional for the first time since 2018.
“I couldn’t have been more excited for these girls to qualify for regionals,” said Roberts. This team has fought for the last four seasons to accomplish the goal of getting us back to an NCAA regional and I am so proud of them for that achievement.”
BYU was selected to compete at the NCAA Franklin Regional hosted by Vanderbilt University at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. The Cougars played solid golf on the first two days before matching a program record in round three, shooting the lowest 18-hole team score in program history to jump into contention and ultimately finish seventh.
“Overall this was a great year for women’s golf at BYU,” said Garner. “We won three tournaments and qualified to play at regionals. As always, we could look back and wish we had done more, but I’m proud of the team for getting through all of the ups and downs of the season, finishing strong with an 8-under-par final round at regionals which will give us the confidence to build off the success we had this past year going into the 2022-23 season."