Javelina golfer Kristina Gutierrez is on her way to becoming a household name in the Lone Star Conference (LSC). The sophomore engineering major was a high school standout before being impressed by the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus.
“The school was really nice. A lot of campuses aren’t given much attention. It was good to see,” Gutierrez said. The university’s environment wasn’t the only thing exciting Gutierrez. “I went on a tour around the school with coach, and it was fun to meet someone here with a similar personality. It was cool to see that coach was doing something different at the school and that she really cared,” she continued.
Gutierrez wasn’t the only party impressed during the recruiting process. In her second year as head coach, Stefanie Gray hoped to improve her roster’s depth and lower her team’s overall score.
“She was a great junior player and had a lot of success at the TAPS level. Getting a recruit of her caliber was huge. She turned out to be a lot more competitive than I thought she was, and that has turned out to be really handy,” Gray said.
Upon her arrival to Kingsville, Gutierrez realized the steep learning curve that comes with a collegiate golf career.
“Starting college golf was a very different experience. I had to learn to be more competitive mentally. Thirty-six rounds can take a toll on you,” Gutierrez said. Her competitive spirit endured. In her freshman year, Gutierrez accrued two top 5 finishes and completed the year with an 80.6 stroke average.
The pressures of putt and par weren’t the only tasks in front of Gutierrez. A civil engineering major, her industrious nature had to extend beyond the fairways. To be a full-time athlete and full-time engineering student, “…It is very hard, but I have friends that are supportive and willing to help.
There are other athletes who are civil engineering majors and they’re always pushing you to do your best,” Gutierrez said.
The 2018-2019 golf season has proven to be a high-point in Gutierrez’s golf career. Out of six events, she has placed in the top 20 four times and the top 10 thrice. She also obtained her first collegiate tournament title at the Skyhawk Women’s Fall Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, shooting a 141 over the course of two days.
This was the first individual title won by a Javelina in Coach Gray’s tenure as coach. Her performance in New Mexico earned her a LSC Golfer of the Week award.
Gutierrez then began the spring 2019 season with a bang, placing 6th at the Jack Brown Memorial Invitational with a two-day score of 227. Her hometown performance earned her a second LSC Golfer of the Week Award, making her the first Javelina to receive the award consecutively, and the first women’s golfer to win the award twice in one year since Ashley Rivera did it during the 2014-2015 season.
“I was really surprised the second time. It’s a relief to know I’m getting better. My hard work is being noted,” Gutierrez said.
Her recent accolades not only highlight her personal success, but also underscore the rising momentum of the Javelina Women’s Golf team.
“It is a step forward for the program to have someone competing at the conference level because we have a very deep conference in women’s golf,” Coach Gray said. But Kristina’s accomplishments come with implications that carry beyond the realm of conference play.
“Having a player that is being competitive at our conference level and nationally is good. We’re getting some national recognition that we’ve never gotten before. We’re in the top 100 for the first time. From the recruiting perspective it’s already helping,” Coach Gray said.
With tournaments in McAllen and Fort Smith, and the Lone Star Conference Championship still left to play, Gutierrez’s work in 2019 is far from over.
“I hope to get consecutively lower scores. I want to close the gap between myself and girls ranked higher than me,” Gutierrez said. “I want to get as high up as possible. I want to do the best I possibly can.”
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