This past weekend, the athletes finished up their first week at The Well at SVB, located in Zephyrhills, Florida on the Sarah Vanden Berg Tennis Center Campus. The team has been going through their normal routine, gearing up for the start of the regular season during their 5 weeks in Florida.
Their first day on the 4th included playing 18 holes at the Lake Jovita North Course, where everyone was eager to get outside and hit on grass. On Tuesday the 5th the athletes started their day with a workout at 7 am and breakfast at 8. The student athletes also began their academics, which spanned for 2 hours in the morning. In the afternoon, everyone practiced for two hours at two courses, Tampa Palms and Hunters Green, before playing 9 holes.
Wednesday started with morning practice at Silverado Golf Course, where the athletes hit balls on the range and worked on wedge control. The group split up later in the day, half going to Tampa Palms, the other to Hunters Green, to play. A PR was made by Emilee Ferguson, who finished with a +5 through 16 holes, an achievement that had her beaming for the rest of the evening.
The second day of academics began Thursday morning, most practicing their Spanish in class. The weather was sunny and clear, with a high of 85, allowing for a beautiful day of play and practice again at Silverado. The athletes worked today on their pre-shot planning before coming back for dinner. While some chose to stay back, others chose to end their day by playing tennis.
Friday was another routine day for the athletes, starting off with a workout in the morning before heading to Lexington Oaks Golf Club and Heritage Isles Golf and Country Club for morning practice. The team then made their way to Lake Jovita to get in 12-15 holes before calling it a day.
The athletes were able to watch the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill on Saturday. Most everyone was focused on Rory McIlroy, who shot a -6 on the back nine. The team was then able to talk with Notah Begay III, who was commentating on the course, and he gave everyone insight as to what tour life looks like and asked what the athletes were noticing about the players. The team had a great time and were even able to get some autographs from McIlroy.
The athletes concluded their weekend by playing some more tennis between breakfast and lunch before heading to Lake Jovita for a mock tournament. They all played 18 holes in preparation for their first tournament. The scores from the round are:
16-19
Andrew Hahn (E)
Will Giaquinto (+2)
Eli Salazar (+5)
Will Spencer (+13)
14-15
Angelo Martinez (-3)
Kyle Beaudry (+6)
Griffin Lawlor (+7)
George Targowski (+18)
Max Thompson (+22)
Updates will be made this week on the scores and outcomes of the tournament, as well as the day to day of the athletes.