USC tees off their spring season this Saturday in a match against No. 3 Texas A&M at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The match against Texas A&M is not the first time the two teams will have met this season: Last November, USC beat Texas A&M 3-2 at the East Lake Cup consolation match, allowing them to clinch the bronze medal.

Ranked No. 3 by the Golf Channel and No. 5 in the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Coaches Poll, the Trojan roster consists of seven returning players, four of which are starters, and two newcomers  — Rolex All-Americans Bailey Shoemaker and Frances Kim. Following a run that fell one match short of an NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships win last year, USC emerged from the fall semester with a 2-3 record and an eagerness to win. 

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Senior Brianna Navarrosa is looking forward to the rematch. 

“They’re obviously a strong team. We just recently played them, and we’ve played with them before in regular tournaments and show play tournaments,” Navarrosa said. “It’s going to be a great competition.” 

The Trojans are strong with junior Amari Avery and sophomore Catherine Park ranking No. 15 and 33, respectively, in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Both golfers were listed on the ANNIKA Award Watch List last fall, an annual award given to the top female Division I collegiate golfer. Last semester, they were both named Pac-12 Women’s Golfer of the Week and Avery recently played in the U.S. Women’s Open. 

Despite high performance and expectations, Navarrosa says it’s nothing new.

“With how high of a caliber team that we have, with how elite of a lineup that we have, there’s always going to be pressure on us coming from exterior forces, or even within the team,” Navarrosa said. “We always expect to be exactly where we were last year with a different outcome.”

Head Coach Justin Silverstein has tracked nearly 12 years of experience with the USC men’s and women’s golf programs, most recently being named the 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Coach of the Year — his second time receiving the accolade. He has a similar mindset. 

“The standards and expectations here really never change,” Silverstein said. “From the outside, people ask us all the time, ‘Is there more motivation to play well this year because you guys were so close last year?’ No — it’s our expectation that we’re going to compete and have a chance to win every single tournament we play in.”

With competition to make the lineup at an all-time high, players must juggle responsibilities as student-athletes wisely in a mantra Silverstein described as “being aware of where our feet are.”  

“If it’s at practice, be at practice. If it’s in the weight room, be in the weight room. If it’s in the classroom, be in the classroom,” Silverstein said. “If we can just focus on what we’re doing while we’re doing it, we’re going to be in a good spot at the end of the year.”

While the team plays in tournaments in both the fall and spring, players pursue personal records during the summer with individual amateur tournaments. Winter break lacks regular play, so the spring season has traditionally required more of a push to get back in the game. 

Usually, the Trojans have a full month of practice to return to regulation. This time around, they’ve had five days. 

“[Associate Head Coach Tiffany Joh] and I thought it’d be a good idea to jump right in to see where we’re at this weekend … That’ll help us get prepared for our first major tournament,” Silverstein said. “So the ramp up is a little steeper, but I think it lends itself to us being really well prepared for the entire length of the spring.”

With the season setting back into full swing, perhaps Navarrosa said it best: “There’s always room for improvement; we can never be satisfied.”

The Trojans’ s(par) with Texas A&M on the green Saturday is the first of five tournaments this spring — four of which are conveniently located in California. USC will head up to Washington in April for the annual Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championships. There, it will make its first major drive toward the National Championships.