Permian senior Adrianna Hernandez was a relative latecomer to golf, but she’s made big strides in a short time.
Hernandez, who took up the game in seventh grade, wrapped up her high school career last month, but will continue playing at the college level after signing a letter of intent with UTPB Wednesday during a ceremony at Permian High School.
Hernandez, who will graduate Saturday, said she concentrated on improving her game once she got to high school.
“I improved on my scores and I improved more,” said Hernandez, who was the lone senior in the Permian lineup this spring. “I love hitting my driver and my chipping has really come on. I used to struggle with that a lot, but later on I began to fix it up and I got better with it.
“UTPB was my choice because it’s closer to home, plus they have a good education system. I’ll be able to step up my level of golf, too.”
Permian girls golf coach Rodney Roman said Hernandez, who played on Lady Panther teams that qualified for the Region I-6A tournament as a sophomore and a senior, put in the work to get to where she is.
“She’s given herself opportunities, especially the way she’s played the last two years,” Roman said. “She’s improved so much that it gave her the opportunity to get looked at by not just UTPB, but other schools as well.
“She’s grown so much these last two years, especially this year. She had a big impact on us finishing strong at the end, to finish second at district.”
The Lady Panthers finished second in the team standings at the District 2-6A tournament to qualify for regionals with Hernandez tying for sixth place in the individual standings.
At the I-6A tourney, Permian finished ninth in the team standings with Hernandez finishing 44th individually. Hernandez also had a sixth-place finish at the Ector County ISD Invitational in March.
“It gives me an opportunity to experience even more courses rather than (the regular season) where you’re playing certain courses,” she said. “When you get to regionals, it’s more of an experience.”
Roman said Hernandez developed into a solid No. 2 player for the Lady Panthers.
“It was the time and effort and the hard work she put in to get to that level,” he said. “She knew where she needed to be and she knew where she wanted to be. She worked extremely hard to get to that point where she needed to be.
“It’s just the work ethic that she has is awesome, not only on the golf course but academically as well. She finished pretty well in her class.”
