PlayeR of the yeaR

TexAnn Isabel Jimenez-Perea dominates Division II in women’s golf

b y C HA n D r A An D r E w

isabel Jimenez-Perea racked up quite a list of accomplishments during her four years at Tarleton, with the biggest coming as a senior.

For the first time in Tarleton history, a TexAnn golfer was named as the National Player of the Year when Jimenez-Perea was honored as the Women’s Golf Coaches Association PING Division II Player of the Year. This also was a first in Lone Star Conference history.

In addition, the kinesiology major was named the Lone Star Conference Female Athlete of the Year. During her senior year, she rose to the No. 1-ranked player in Division II by GolfStat but finished second at the end of the year.

“I would rate her as one of the best players I have coached,” said Jerry Doyle, head women’s golf coach. “She takes very good care of herself and stays on top of all her duties. Everyone loves her.”

Originally from Madrid, Spain, Jimenez-Perea started golfing at a young age.

“I was 7 and my dad played golf, so I asked him if I could go,” she said. “He bought me a little set of clubs. I started taking lessons at a kids’ academy and I haven’t stopped playing since.”

As her prowess on the course continued to improve with age, Jimenez-Perea started looking for golf opportunities at the collegiate level.

“I got an agent who helped me explore my university options,” she explained. “Tarleton was the one that stood out to me.”

After flying almost 5,000 miles to Texas, Jimenez-Perea experienced quite the culture shock when she got to Stephenville.

“When I first saw people wearing cowboy boots and cowboy hats, I thought that was only in the movies,” she said. “I didn’t know that you could go to class with boots and hats on, but I liked it.”

Jimenez-Perea admitted it wasn’t long before she embraced Texan hospitality and began to thrive at Tarleton thanks to her team and coach.

“We have so much fun as a team,” JimenezPerea said. “And Coach Doyle has made a big impact on me. He’s a great coach and treats us like players but also like we are his family. We know he’s always going to be there for us, even after we’re done with school.”

The strong team bonding also transferred onto the course. Tarleton ended the 2015-16 season with seven tournament victories, including its ninth Lone Star Conference title and ninth West Regional Championship in 10 years.

The WGCA named head coach Jerry Doyle as the West Region Coach of the Year. It was Doyle’s second major award of the season after winning the LSC Coach of the Year for a record ninth time. It was Doyle’s fifth WGCA Regional Coach of the Year award.

Casey Wild and Beatriz Prados were named to the WGCA Honorable Mention team. Wild finished the season ranked 11th in the nation and had one tournament win to go with seven top-10 finishes. Prados was ranked 18th in the nation with one tournament victory along with four top-10 finishes.

Jimenez-Perea also finished in the Top 10 in 11 of the 12 tournaments this season and helped the TexAnns win seven tournaments.

She was a four-time All-American, named to the LSC All-Academic team her senior year and received first-team All-LSC honors all four years. Jimenez-Perea also was named to the WGCA All-Region team for the fourth time. She was a nine-time LSC Golfer of the Week in her career and won 12 tournaments in her four years, including three her senior year.

Although Jimenez-Perea graduated in May, she plans to spend even more time in Stephenville and on area golf courses.

“I will be pursuing my master’s in kinesiology at Tarleton,” she said. “I will also play in some professional tournaments this summer and try to make the LPGA, although that may be farther in the future.”