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So, of all the places in the world, the trio first crossed paths, naturally, in the aisles of the Hardeeville Wal-Mart, not more than a par-5 away from USCB's campus.
Seeing them interact now, one would never know these three have known one another only since August. They share inside jokes and knowing glances, three friends drawn closer by their shared experience and their common goal to put the Sand Sharks' women's golf team on the map.
"I think internationals have a lot of things in common, because we all are in a different country, and we all feel the same," Villar-Urquiza said. "We all miss our country, too, but I think we feel very proud to be here and be representing our country."
Villar-Urquiza, who shortens her first name to "Cande" because, "Nobody here knows how to say my name," first got to know Henke through Facebook and conversations on Skype, an Internet telephone interface. Now they're roommates, along with teammates Sally Woodhead, Brittany Cheek and Jennifer Morgan.
They first bumped into Saavedra at Wal-Mart, and the three have hit if off ever since.
"At first I was scared of coming here, because it's a different culture and a new experience, and you're afraid of being alone for the first time," Saavedra said. "But it's much easier because we are all international, so it's new for everyone."
Villar-Urquiza and Saavedra also share a common language, though they only speak to one another in Spanish when they're alone, because "it is not nice" to do so in front of teammates or classmates who don't understand, Villar-Urquiza said. Henke doesn't get as many chances to speak German, despite her best efforts to teach her language to teammates.
"We tried to teach everyone one word of Spanish and one word of German," Henke said. "But it failed."
They've had much more success on the golf course. In their first tournament, the Sand Sharks placed fourth, led by Cheek's 77 and followed closely by Saavedra's 78 and Villar-Urquiza's 79.
USCB coach Shane LeBaron said all seven of his players have shown improvement in the three weeks since that first tournament, and he's eager to see how they play Monday and Tuesday at the Chick-fil-A Invitational at Coosa Country Club in Rome, Ga.
If they keep adapting to college golf as well as they have to their new environment, LeBaron has no doubt they will continue to have success.
"As funny as it sounds, even though the girls are from different countries, the big common denominator is they all want to play and they all want to improve," LeBaron said. "Even though they're from different areas of the world, they're not all that different. Their similarities are amazing."
USCB WOMEN'S GOLF
What: Chick-fil-A Women's Collegiate Invitational
Where: Coosa Country Club, Rome, Ga.
When: Monday and Tuesday
Notes: The event will be the Sand Sharks' first 36-hole tournament, since their first event this season was shortened to 18 holes because of rain. ... The same five players -- Brittany Cheek, Cande Villar-Urquiza, Adriana Saavedra, Sophie Henke and Jennifer Morgan -- will represent the Sand Sharks as they did at the season-opening Lady Falcon Invitational in New London, N.C., where USCB finished fourth.
