Sophomore Bishop Shines Brightest

With drive, dedication and love for the game, the University of Tampa women’s golf team is ready to kick off their new season.  To start  the season, the women’s golf team competed in the Webber Invitational hosted at the Lake Wales Country Club on Sunday.  Originally, the Spartan team was going to participate in the Flagler Invitational as their first tournament but chose to participate in the Webber Invitational instead.

Returning sophomore golfer, Kendra Bishop is really looking forward to this season and hopes that she can bring what she practiced over the summer to the Spartan Team.

“I’m really excited for the season, I practiced a lot over the summer, I can’t wait to start and get the season going and show Tampa spirit out there,” said Bishop.  “I played a lot of tournaments over the summer.  I played one tour in the Ohio-Michigan area and I ended up winning that tour so that was kind of a big thing.”

The UT women finished in second place out of six teams in the Webber Invitational.  Bishop led the way for the Spartans, with a round of 75.

Her expectations for this past weekend’s Webber Invitational and for the rest of the season were more like future goals then expectations.  Along with that, Bishop also has high potential goals for the team this season.  She is looking forward to working hard and placing in more top spots and overall improving together as a team.

When asked about how she is going to help accomplish her goals for this year’s season, it was no surprise that she was excited about her favorite and brand new driver in her golf bag.

“I actually just got a new driver!  It’s the white Rocketballs with the white driver head and I’m just having so much fun with it.  Its longer and its fun to hit.  I can’t wait to use it in more and more tournaments this season!”

Bishop is not the only member on the Spartan women’s golf team with goals for this year.  Entering her second year as head coach, Coach Missey Jones has her own goals to help improve the team and to have a great season.

“I’m looking forward to our practices becoming more organized and specific.  I love UT!  I want to build this program and I want to be here until I can’t coach anymore.  That’s what I’m looking forward to the most, building the program and spending more time with the girls.”

One thing that Jones knows will make her goals possible is having Bishop as a returning member.

“Kendra is a really dedicated player.  She’s the kind of player I’d like to have 12 players of.  She knows her background and she knows how to work at that when I’m not around,” stated Jones about Bishop.   “We only have a limited amount of practices, so on the days when I’m not there, she knows how to work on her game.  She’s very aware on what is going on in her swing and, for the game of golf, it’s knowing how to work at it and she knows how to work at it.  She is someone I never have to worry about.”

Next, the Spartan team will be competing in the Nova Southeastern Invitational on October 8 and 9.

Paige Shallcross can be reached at paige.shallcross@spartans.ut.edu