Bill Vilona
GoArgos.com Senior Writer
 
After purposely resisting any inquiries on her team's leaderboard standing, Alegria Lopez sensed this time was different.

She stared at a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. She was in the final group on the final hole. The body language of teammates, coaches gave her intuition the next stroke could be the biggest of the season. 

"Coach, what is this putt for?" Lopez asked UWF women's golf coach Kristen Dorsey.

From her own playing experience, Dorsey knew the best response was positive reinforcement.

"You got this. You got this putt," she told her freshman player. "You going to make it. Just focus."

Lopez took a final look, refocused, made the perfect stroke and let her teammates reaction tell the meaning.

Her tournament-clinching birdie putt lifted the Argos to a dramatic Gulf South Conference Tournament title April 16 in the greatest comeback in GSC history, punctuated with UWF getting the conference spot in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament which begins on Monday in Fort Lauderdale.

In one special moment two weeks ago at the Robert Trent Jones-Magnolia Course in Mobile, Lopez created a season-defining experience for the Argos.

It was their first conference title in five years. Their second tournament win in four years. They did it with a nine-stroke rally in the third, final round, which provided a jolt of confidence heading into this week's first NCAA regional event. 

"It was one of the greatest moments in my life," said Lopez, who grew up in Quito, Ecuador and is part of a UWF team that features four of its eight players from different countries. "I was nervous, but I had so much adrenalin.

"I was excited. I didn't know what was going on, but it was amazing."

It has led into a rewarding experience to play in an NCAA regional where the Argos have familiarity. They played this South Florida course, Grande Oaks Golf Club in Davie, way back on September 13-14 in a season-opening tournament. The 12-team regional features three of the top five ranked D-2 teams --- Lynn University, Barry and host school Nova Southeastern – in the most recent coaches' poll.

The top five teams, plus two individuals not among those teams, from the 54-hole event advance to the NCAA Division II national tournament May 10-14 in Gainesville, Georgia. 

Until a second-place finish April 5 in the Argo Invitational at Tiger Point, the Argos did not place among the top six in any prior event. They are now in a NCAA regional for the 11^th time in school history. 

"We have been fighting for this moment our whole year," Lopez said. "Not only golfing and technique, but mentally. We have been getting mentally stronger. 

"We just have more patience and more optimistic when it come sto birdies and small putts. I think the fact we finished second and were close to first (at Argo Invitational) made us realize we were capable of winning a tournament. 

'In the fall we had tournaments that were not our best, but we knew we were preparing to win. I think we are really confident in our games now. We knew we were so close and capable of doing that."

The feat carried unique meaning for Dorsey, who was recently named the GSC Coach of the Year. This season was essentially her first full season as UWF coach. 

After being hired in June 2019, her first season was halted in March 2020 by the initial onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, which shut down all levels of sports worldwide. The Argos then played an abbreviated schedule a year ago due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

A Gulf Breeze High and Kansas State graduate, Dorsey now has special distinction of having played in an NCAA regional tournament and coached a team in post-season. A year ago, Dorsey went to regionals with Solange Gomez, now a redshirt junior, who qualified in 2021 as an individual. 

"It is pretty cool," said Dorsey, who grew up an accomplished junior golfer in Pensacola, winning back-to-back Divot Derby titles. "If you asked me then (as player), I would have had no clue. 

"I remember as a player we were very overwhelmed. We played in smaller tournaments and then we showed up at the NCAA and it was like, okay, this is a big deal. Best teams in the country out here. Tougher course. We were overwhelmed by the experience."

To get her players better prepared, Dorsey has worked to make every practice unique. In qualifying tournaments to form the five players on the team, she has presented rule sheets, pin sheets and announced names just like a tournament. During practices, she will use different, fun elements to break up monotony and keep players engaged in fun competitions.

"Coaching at D-2 is a really neat experience," said Dorsey, who went on to play professional golf for a couple years after college. "I get to work with these girls a lot more than my coaches worked with us at the D-1 level, because you have a ton of more responsibilities at D-1."

She has mentored Lopez, who joins with Gomez in being among the few women from their home country Ecuador playing competitive golf. 

During her final round at the GSC Tournament, Lopez made a lengthy putt for double-bogey, which proved pivotal when she faced the final hole birdie putt to clinch a team win. 

"My job now was to talk to her about that putt she had two and a half hours ago (that day)," Dorsey said, explaining how she coached Lopez before the final putt. "So I told her that, 'I see you been making putts all day. You may be the best putter on the team.'

"We talked to her about how proud we were of her… trying to fill her cup up so when she walks to the green she is doesn't feel so pressed. I think those type of conversations, unless you have played, you don't know how important that is."

So important it gave UWF a conference title and NCAA tournament trip.