If you asked senior Stephanie Meadows where Alabama would be a few months ago, she wouldn’t be expecting her team to be heading into the NCAA Championship Tournament.
“Honestly, if you told me we were in this position that we are in now two months ago, I would be shocked,” Meadows said. “You know, I think everyone has gotten a lot better; I’m proud of everyone for that.”
Finishing No. 2 in the NCAA Central Regional Championship two weeks ago, the Crimson Tide has been gearing up for its ninth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance. The Championships will be held in Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
While competing in the Regional Championship, Alabama went into the tournament ranked as the No. 3 seed. However, knowledge was on Alabama’s side as coach Mic Potter was given helpful tips to keep the Crimson Tide on top of the competition. Potter said the advice gave Alabama the edge it needed.
“Our men’s assistant coach, Mike McGraw, was at Oklahoma State for a while, and he probably knows the course better than anybody,” Potter said. “The thing he told us was number one, the more you know about the wind, the bigger advantage you’re going to have, and that really helped us throughout the tournament and the final round. But the other thing was you’ve got to stay patient, especially if it is windy, because all the other teams are going to lose their composure, and he was exactly right.”
Over the past two weeks, Alabama has been working on the minor details, mainly improving consistency.
“I think it helps that we have played there and we know that you don’t have to hit a lot of drivers if you don’t want to. It’s a placement course,” Potter said. “I think we’re pretty comfortable with what we found there in September, so it’s just a matter of working on the right things where our golf swings are repetitive, our ball flights are repetitive, we strike our putts consistently so it’s no different than any other tournament, but we have to keep working on the right things and get better at it.”
As Meadows said, the entire team has improved from the beginning of the season to now. Meadows also added the team is ready for the upcoming championships.
“I’m excited. I really am,” Meadows said. “There’s no other way to say it. I’m truly excited.”
