by Sean Cartell
SAN ANTONIO – Seven-year-old Daniela Abonce was a Girl Scout growing up in Veracruz, Mexico, who took an interest in her father Manuel Abonce Ferrandon’s golf hobby, tagging along with him on weekends.
“My dad used to just play for fun on Sundays and I decided to come and take a class,” Abonce said. “I didn’t play anything else after that and I started to compete when I was around nine years old. I haven’t left the game ever since then.”
It’s been an incredible journey for Abonce from that first class to playing for the Mexican National Teams to becoming an American Conference Champion with the UTSA women’s golf program.
Abonce started Girl Scouts when she was six years old and it proved to be a formative experience that helped prepare her to become a high-level athlete.
“It shaped me in a lot of ways,” Abonce said. “Not only to start being a little bit independent, but also being responsible, having to take care of my backpack and building relationships. I got to experience other cities and other cultures. I had to leave it because I wanted to spend most of my time in golf, but it was a great experience.”
From a very early age, Abonce set an incredibly high standard for herself. The top-four golfers in each age group playing regional competition were selected to play on the national team. Abonce strove to be part of the very elite young golfers in her country.
“When I was nine years old, I missed top four by just a couple points and I was very upset,” she said. “I thought that was it for me at that time in my life; I thought maybe I’m not good for golf. My mom (Alma Leticia Mex Carpio) had a huge impact on the decision to bring me back and say, ‘No, we’re working to make the national team next year.’ I think it was very helpful to bring me back to what I really wanted and how much I would need to work to get that.
“When I was 10 years old, I came back and won every single regional tournament. I won the national tournament. It was proof that hard work pays off. I kept building from there.”
The support from Abonce’s parents has been a constant throughout her life.
“There are no words for the impact of my parents,” Abonce said. “They’ve been home in Mexico supporting me in every tournament and every decision I’ve made in academics. They’ve stood by my side through my highs and lows. They’re truly my everything and I miss them a lot.”
Abonce was a standout junior golfer in Mexico, competing in the 2021 Mexgolf Cup and playing on the Texas Junior Golf Tour.
As she began the college recruitment process and drew interest from UTSA, it was the endorsement from the sister of a former Conference USA Champion Roadrunner golfer that helped Abonce make her decision.
Lucia Gonzalez, a current Old Dominion golfer and a fellow Mexican junior golfer, was the same age as Abonce. Her sister, Ana Isabel Gonzalez, competed for UTSA from 2017-22 and was the individual medalist at the 2019 Conference USA Championship.
“Knowing that there were other Mexican golfers here at UTSA helped my decision,” Abonce said. “I was playing national tournaments with Ana Isabel Gonzalez’s sister and that helped me a lot in deciding to come here.”
When considering her collegiate destination, Abonce found UTSA to be the perfect fit for her, providing everything she was looking for in her next step.
“I decided to attend UTSA because of the coaches, because of the facilities and because it’s been a growing school ever since I committed to come here,” Abonce said. “The support that they show us is amazing. They want the best for us as athletes, but also the best for us as people and for our lives. The growth UTSA has shown the past couple of years has been amazing, not only as a school, but in athletics.”
Abonce made an immediate impact at UTSA, earning Third-Team All-Conference USA accolades as a freshman and finishing tied for 15th at the C-USA Championship. Her sophomore season, Abonce claimed the 2024 American Conference individual championship, earning her first collegiate victory.
She was the sixth player in program history to win a league individual title and, fittingly, became the first Roadrunner since Gonzalez to accomplish the feat.
“Winning a championship at UTSA was a dream come true, not only for my success but also what it brings to the school,” Abonce said. “It’s something I dreamed of doing ever since I was a kid, not only coming to a Division I school, but winning at the collegiate level. I received so much support, even before winning the championship, from the community that makes UTSA such a special place.”
Abonce is pursuing her bachelor of business administration in management from UT San Antonio’s highly regarded Carlos Alvarez College of Business. She credits her coaches and Beth Noteware, Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Academic Services, for support in balancing high-level academics and athletics.
“UTSA does an amazing job of making sure we have all the resources that we need for us to be successful in our academic responsibilities, even when we’re on the road,” Abonce said. “Our coaches and academic advisors make sure if we need anything, that they are there all the time to help us.”
As Abonce enters her final American Conference Championship April 20-22 at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla., she knows her decision to attend UTSA has played out exactly as she had hoped.
“It’s been a great choice,” Abonce said. “They provide everything I could possibly dream of and it was the greatest decision I could make.”
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