AACC’s first-ever women’s golf team is getting a late start to the season because the cold and snowy winter weather delayed recruiting.

The team, with a roster of six players, is scheduled to play its first game on April 3 against the College of Southern Maryland.

“We started late in the recruiting process, and we have a few brand-new golfers, and so [we’re] teaching them the game, working on their skills, and getting them comfortable to get them to the level of where they can compete,” head coach Mike Rice said.

Rice said he expects the team to play six matches during the season and compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Southeastern District Championships and “see where we go from there.”

Rice said the women golfers “are going down in history as being the first players.”

“I’m excited to make history,” golfer Arianna Whited, a second-year forensics student, said. “We didn’t know we were the first women’s team, but once we figured that out, we were excited.”

Second-year public health student Maureena Peters said she is new to golf.

“My goal is just learning the sport of golf because it’s a lifetime sport I can play,” Peters said.

Rice said he is “honored” to be the women’s golf coach at AACC.

“I was extremely excited about it,” Rice added. “I’ve coached women golfers for, you know, years now, along with men golfers. And then with this opportunity, and it being the first of its kind in Maryland, it’s a great honor.”