The USF women's golf program has enjoyed one of the finest seasons in program history with three tournament titles, a No. 33 national ranking and seven top-four finishes (in nine tournaments) by All-American Melanie Green.

As the host Bulls shoot for their first league title since 2012 during the American Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins Monday at Brooksville's Southern Hills Plantation Club, Coach Erika Brennan credits an unsung hero with much of the success.

It's junior Leonor Medeiros — a native of Portugal known by all as Leo (Lay-oh) — who has three top-10 finishes and a 73.89 stroke average this season. Ordinarily, a player such as Medeiros would fly under the radar.

Not at USF. The value of Medeiros can be appreciated and celebrated without being meticulously quantified.

"Leo continues to be the heart and pulse of our team,'' Bulls coach Erika Brennan said. "I don't think that you'll find a student-athlete on any team at USF who has as much heart for USF as she does. She really infuses our lineup with that passion, that fire and that kind of hunger in their bellies.

"She is the rallying cry of our team. To see her perform and get significantly more red numbers this year, it's just wonderful. She has established herself not just as someone in the lineup, but as one of the top players in our lineup. It's really cool to watch her journey unfold.''

In a tight-knit program, no two players are closer than Medeiros and Green. Teammates jokingly call them the "Siamese Twins'' because they do everything together.

"I definitely would not be the person or the golfer I am without her in my corner,'' Green said. "She's a little sister, an ultimate supporter and a loyal teammate, all rolled into one. And let me tell you, she bleeds green and gold.''

Medeiros said she played multiple sports — soccer, basketball and martial arts among them — as a kid in Palmela, Portugal (about 40 minutes away from Lisbon, the country's capital). As a teenager, she chose golf as her focus.

Due to the European system where academics and athletics are separate entities, Medeiros said she was eager to be recruited by American universities. USF coaches met Medeiros at a German event. The program and school looked attractive, but it was a leap of faith. Her first day in America was when she arrived to begin classes at USF.

"I'm so, so, so grateful with how it happened for me,'' Medeiros said. "I feel like I'm in the best place with the best coaches and best program.

"The people truly make the difference. Wherever we go, I feel like we're the most connected and energized team at that tournament. That energy become contagious. I take it all very seriously — being a motivator, the right body language, choosing positivity, appreciating what I have — because this school and this community already has given me so much. I'm lucky.''

Medeiros, a business management major, said USF's rising confidence has been gratifying. It began last season, when the Bulls qualified for the NCAA Regionals (finishing eight in the 12-team field) at Palm Beach Gardens.

This season, Medeiros said the Bulls "believe we can win the tournament every time we step out there.''

"The way I see it, we have a very short time to do this (in college athletics), so why not go all out and give everything you positively have,'' Medeiros said. "I'm a passionate person by nature, so I show that passion constantly for our team and for all my peer athletes within USF athletics.

"This is my school. These are my people. USF changed my life for the better. I'll be connected to the school for the rest of my life and I'll be wearing my green and gold forever.''

Medeiros said the Bulls are focused on winning the AAC Tournament, returning to the NCAA regionals and earning the program's first nationals appearance since 2002.

"We have a lot of big goals, but we're taking it one round and one tournament at a time,'' Green said. "Sometimes, your score isn't what you want, but the one thing that never changes is the relationships on this team.

"And no matter what, Leo's always going to be there, hyping us up, giving us the best support, being the best teammate. There's no one like her.''