Dec. 10, 2007

CANYON, Texas - Both the men's and women's golf programs at West Texas A&M have received signed national letters of intent during the off season to add depth for the 2008-2009 season.

The men's team added Chad Cavallero out of Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colo. Cavallero was named first team all-conference in 2007 after finishing with a scoring average of 74.8 per round of golf.

"His patience on the course and ability to grind it out on the last few holes makes him one of the most mentally tough players I have seen," head men's golf coach Ryan Leaf said.

The Lady Buffs signed both Sara Coe, an Amarillo, Texas, native out of Randall High School, and Hammerli Sriyai, from Bangkok, Thailand. In the spring of 2007, Coe was honored as the Raiders' MVP and was named first team all-district. Additionally, she took second in district play during her spring campaign, finished in first place in Borger, Texas, with a 74 and she had several top five finishes throughout the season.

"She is a team oriented player whose determination to win is contagious," head women's golf coach Meredith Jameson said.

Sriyai is considered one of the top amateur golfers in her home country of Thailand. She won the Pepsi Little Peoples Championship in 2006 and finished tied for seventh in the same tournament the following year . "The way Hammerli carries herself on the course shows her burning desire to convert bogies into pars and pars into birdies," Jameson said. "I expect to see Hammerli competing on the national level her freshman year."

During the fall season, the Buffs competed in four tournaments, finishing twelfth in the first tournament, fourteenth in the next two tournaments and tenth in the final tournament. Spring action for the Buffs starts with a tournament hosted by Texas A&M-Commerce on March 3, in Pottsboro, Texas.

Mollie Peterson and Stephanie Boldger battled in a two-hole playoff to finish in first and second place, respectively, as the Lady Buffs won the Grizzly Invitational/RMAC#3 hosted by Adams State. The team also collected two fourth place finishes and one sixth place finish in tournament play during the fall. Tarleton State will host the first spring tournament for the Lady Buffs in Granburry, Texas, on Feb. 16.