The 2007-2008 season saw the women’s golf team make marked improvement, but it ended on a disappointing note.

Although the Lady Frogs had three first-year golfers play prominent roles, head coach Angie Ravaioli-Larkin said that she and her team were not happy with finishing in a tie for 17th place at the NCAA Championships.

“I really felt like we could’ve done better, and I think the team does too,” Ravaioli-Larkin said.

However, Ravaioli-Larkin said last year as a whole was certainly not a disappointment.

“Looking back on the whole year, I was very pleased with how far they came and what they ended up accomplishing,” Ravaioli-Larkin said.

This year, with several golfers returning, including All-American junior Valentine Derrey, Ravaioli-Larkin said the bar is set high for this season’s squad.

However, Ravaioli-Larkin said the team’s lofty goals can only be achieved by meeting some of the smaller, more routine goals she has laid out.

“My main thing is to set those goals, then focus on those goals that we have control over,” said Ravaioli-Larkin. “Those are our practice goals and our work ethic, and our discipline and focus. We do those things and the results will come.”

Derrey, voted a second-team All-American by the National Golf Coaches Association last season, said she still has room to improve.

She said she worked this offseason to improve her mental game, and she is working toward attaining a No. 1 national ranking by the end of her senior year. Derrey finished last year ranked 14th nationally by Golfstat.

Derrey credits her coach with pushing her toward success.

“She’s really tough,” Derrey said. “She knows we’re capable of everything, and that’s why she pushes us really hard.”

This season, much like last year, first-year players are being counted on to contribute. One of them, Rachel Raastad, tied a TCU single-round record when she shot a 67 at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate tournament Sept. 23.

A native of Norway, Raastad was also selected to compete for her country in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Adelaide, Australia, earlier this month.

However, even after competing almost all her life, Raastad said she was still anxious during her first tournament as a Horned Frog.

“I was almost shaking,” Raastad said.

The Lady Frogs have finished in second place in two consecutive tournaments. However, due to several complications, Ravaioli-Larkin said she has not had a full roster to work with yet.

That should change on Oct. 27, Ravaioli-Larkin said, when the Lady Frogs compete in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.