'The best feeling in the world': UE golfer Kate Petrova reflects on MVC individual title

EVANSVILLE — The University of Evansville women’s golf team had a putting competition during the semester. Coach John Andrews tasked fifth-year senior Alyssa McMinn with creating a scenario to put pressure on Kate Petrova, the talented freshman from Moscow, Russia.

McMinn scripted a scene for Petrova before it was her turn in the team contest.

“OK, you have the winning putt for conference here,” McMinn said. “Let’s see you make it.”

She sank her shot.

Petrova was tasked with the same scenario Tuesday. This time, however, she was shooting for the win in the Missouri Valley Conference individual tournament. The event went to a three-way playoff between herself, Drake’s Kristen Giles and Murray State’s Payton Carter.

Petrova had an 18-foot putt to clinch the individual title. Andrews said he knew she won as soon as she stepped forward. Petrova took her shot and saw it moving directly to the middle of the hole. She didn’t need to see if fall before she celebrated.

The rest of the Purple Aces had a Walmart bag of water bottles hidden away and ready to go if Petrova won.

“We grabbed those water bottles,” McMinn said, “and she was just drenched.”

“It was really cool. I just really love my team,” Petrova said. “They’re awesome teammates; they supported me. The shower was just the best feeling in the world.”

She didn’t worry about the playoff. She remained calm.

“In my head, I just told myself, ‘If you worry, it will be worse for you,’” Petrova said. “‘Just stay calm and you’ll do good.”

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Petrova won both the MVC individual title and Newcomer of the Year while being named to the all-tournament team while UE tied for second with Belmont in the team standings. UE’s star frosh also won the Indiana State Spring Invitational and improved over the course of the season.

Regional selections for the NCAA Tournament will be announced at 12 p.m. April 26 on the Golf Channel.

Andrews said Petrova’s international experience helped her grow and prepare for the Division I level. Her goal is to be a professional golfer. UE was her first offer and she accepted right away “because I know it’ll help me anyway,” she said.

“She’s one of those people that is in her own mind. There’s not a lot that needs to be said,” Andrews said. “She has questions every now and then, but that’s about it. I’m just there to answer questions, maybe help with the pressure, but it’s very easy to coach because there’s not a lot of coaching to her.”

Petrova credited her teammates for helping her adjust to the U.S. The Aces’ closeness came up throughout conversations at a small celebration at Carson Center on Thursday. Had the team not been as welcoming, Andrews said, UE may not have seen the same success as it did.

“When I got here, it was like a new world for me,” Petrova said. “I was just exploring everything and it was really exciting, then it got worse because I missed home. … It was pretty hard, but (the) team helped me, my friends helped me, family supported me from my country and I got better.”

UE's recent success in women's golf

Petrova became the Aces’ third individual MVC champion since 2017. UE never finished in the league’s top five before 2021. Since then, the Aces have finished there each year and won the conference title in 2021.

This season’s second-place tie was UE’s second-best MVC finish behind the championship two years prior.

Andrews doesn’t accept plaudits or responsibility for the successes and titles. He places those with his golfers. He gives them credit and said the way to keep growing in the future lies with recruiting good players.

“I said this two years and I mean it: I have good players,” he said. “As much as (former) coach (Jim) Hamilton and I would love to step up here and take credit for the team being at the top of the Missouri Valley the last three years, I have good players and that’s why we’re on top.”

2021 title: UE women's golf team wins Missouri Valley Conference championship

McMinn didn’t think about winning titles when she arrived on campus five years ago. That has developed over the past three seasons, which has been “exceptional and unimaginable,” she said. Like her coach, she credited her teammates.

“I think a lot of it comes down to the tight-knit group we have,” McMinn said. “I think that has a lot to do with the success of the team because we all support each other and have fun together. It makes it that much more better on the course and want to win for each other.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville freshman golfer Kate Petrova reflects on MVC championship