LUBBOCK, Texas – Defying expectations and staying the course has become a defining characteristic for the Texas Tech women's golf team this season. From winning the Red Raider Invitational on its home course in September to a last-place finish in Las Vegas during the first week of March, earning a trip to this week's 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships wasn't universally anticipated but remained an attainable goal. In some ways, the uncharted path to the national tournament in Carlsbad, California, reflects untraditional journeys for the golfers who have continued to represent the program with a positive mindset and confidence.
"We've had an up and down season but a lot of high moments," Texas Tech senior Lauren Zaretsky said. "We have a nothing to lose mentality. We're always going to give it our all."
Zaretsky, the lone senior in the lineup, hasn't looked back since putting away her squash racquet and picking up garage sale golf clubs. A top-ranked youth squash player in Canada, her club folded when she was 12 years old – a business reality that led to her parents randomly pulling over at a garage sale and buying her first golf clubs. A trip to a driving range resulted in drives of 220 yards on her first swings, and now she is finishing her collegiate career at the NCAA Championships. "The owner of the public course asked me how long I've been playing and I told him this was the first time," she said. "If it wasn't for the garage sale, I don't know if I'd be playing golf. I fell in love with the game."
A week ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zaretsky and her Texas Tech teammates shocked many when they celebrated together by holding up a "Ticket Punched" sign after they went from an eighth seed in the regional to advance. It's the fifth time in program history to reach the national tournament and the second for Zaretsky – a senior from Toronto, Ontario, who earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors and is the team's highest-ranked individual at No. 67 by Clippd. The Red Raiders went into the Ann Arbor Regional needing to finish fifth or better to advance – a feat they accomplished by starting strong in the opening two rounds and holding off No. 14 UCF, which made a charge but finished two back.
Texas Tech "punched their ticket" at NCAA Ann Arbor Regional
"We didn't play our best at regionals but clinching a spot to go to nationals means a lot to me," Zaretsky said. "I know we have more in us. We stayed consistent and never gave up during regionals. It was probably the toughest course we played all year. Super hilly and tough greens. We did a great job of staying present. We struggled on the last day and I wasn't even looking at the leaderboard. It was a long week and hike but it was definitely worth it to get to go to where we're going now."
Along with Zaretsky, the Red Raiders will be represented by Maja Ambroziak, Cameron Freund, Denisa Vodickova and Klara Hurtova at the OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa when the opening round begins on Friday. A 30-team field will be cut down to 15 after three rounds with stroke play on Monday and the top eight teams advancing to match play on Tuesday and Wednesday to determine the national champion. Texas Tech, which is back in the national tournament for the first time since 2023, will look to defy rankings to keep its season going. Despite being the lowest-ranked team in the national tournament, Zaretsky says this season has taught them to never give up on themselves and that when they play their best, they can match anyone.
"We did have some good tournaments that kept our confidence going," Zaretsky said. "Our tournament in Arizona is the one that really stands out for me. We finished second and Denisa had an individual win. I think that was our turning point late in the spring. The week before, we were in Las Vegas and came in last place. To turn it around and almost win the tournament gave us a moment and a glimpse of what we were capable of."
At the regional tournament, Zaretsky and Ambroziak finished tied for eighth after shooting 1-over-par during the 54-hole tournament to help extend the season and position the team for an opportunity to compete at the national tournament. Ambroziak, who is from Olsztyn, Poland, had two top-10 finishes in the fall but had not finished in the top-20 during the spring season before the regional, where she shot 2-under in the opening round and 1-under in the second to help Tech pull the upset.
"I felt like the second round of the tournament was the best round of golf we've played all year," Texas Tech coach JoJo Robertson said. "The third round got a little tight but I couldn't be more excited to be around this team one more week and play at nationals. I think we showed that at our best, we can play against anybody. We talked about it as a team that we now have the experience to get into that top 15 and top 8 at nationals. We know what it takes to have to grind it out and put up some pars coming in. We're going to need the same mindset going into this week."
Tech travels three juniors in Ambroziak, Freund and Hurtova to California while Vodickova is a sophomore. Hurtova earned an at-large appearance to last year's postseason after a sophomore season where she won the Valspar Augusta Invitational and Pinetree Collegiate. A Policná, Czechia native, she competed in the 2025 NCAA Lubbock Regional but did not advance to the national tournament to cap a season where she led the team in scoring average. Her journey from a municipality of approximately 2,000 in Czechia to representing Tech in the national tournament is another example of improbability and resilience. At the MountainView Collegiate in Tucson, Arizona, this season, Vodickova won the tournament by shooting 9-under and closing out the one-shot victory with 10 straight pars after making a birdie. A transfer from Wake Forest who is also originally from Czechia, she walked off the putting green on Monday at the Rawls Golf Course before the team's final home practice round, looking forward to playing in the national tournament for the first time.
"This is my first nationals so I'm really excited to play," Vodickova said. "I'm really looking forward to it. Everyone is ready to do the best they can. I feel confident knowing my teammates are great players and have all been working really hard."
Texas Tech finished runner-up at the MountainView Collegiate (March 22), led by Vodickova's first place finish
A former walk-on who developed her golf game during Covid hitting balls at a simulator in her family's basement, Freund will also be playing in her first national tournament. Back home in Bethesda, Maryland, she started playing golf at age 7 but basketball was her main sport. That changed as a freshman in high school when she told her dad she wanted to play college golf. Reality set in when he told her that her 18-handicap wasn't going to make it. She worked though. Using the simulator, she went from an 18 handicap to a 12 in a year. Then a 12 to a 6, and then a scratch. "I just kept working to get better," she said. This week, Freund brings that underdog mentality to the national tournament – a belief that she saw results in last week at regionals.
"I think it was a benefit with our seed because we really didn't have too high of expectations on us," Freund said. "We knew we were a good enough team to make nationals but we didn't have those expectations. It was a free feeling that let us go out there and have fun. We learned a lot there, especially in the last round about finishing. We held them off and learned a lot about playing under pressure that will be useful in Carlsbad."
Zaretsky will need to finish two classes this summer to graduate but will close her Texas Tech career this week. In her final season, Zaretsky led the Red Raiders with a 71.5 scoring average, three top-5 finishes and six top-10 finishes. This will be her second NCAA Championship to compete in, playing in it for the first time as a freshman in the 2022-23 season. Following this season, Zaretsky plans on turning professional with her first event already set at the Glencoe Invitational in June at The Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, but is fully invested in helping her team continue to advance in her senior season.
"We need to play with a nothing-to-lose mentality," Zaretsky said. "This is my last ride and it means a lot. I've had a lot of support from a lot of people in a lot of different departments at Tech. The coaches have really embraced me and helped me have the college career I've had. I'm excited about this week but I'm not ready for it to end."
