Xavier Women’s Golf Tees

By Robbie Dzierzanowski, Staff Writer

Xavier women’s golf opened the spring season tied for second place at the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational this past weekend from Feb. 23 to 25. The meet was hosted by Western Michigan University at the White Wing Golf Course in Rio Verde, Ariz.

Throughout the three-day tournament, Xavier put up a 54-hole total score of 870, which was +6, ranked second, tying with Illinois State University. On the individual side, junior Kara Carter led the musketeers with a score of 215, one under par, tying her for eighth in the tournament. Her finish marks her eighth career top-10 finish at Xavier throughout individual competition.

Overall, the Muskies had a myriad of high finishers, all finishing within the top-60 for the tournament. Junior Emma Welch (+13) finished tied for 59th place as well as sophomore Madison Reemsnyder, Xavier’s 2023 All-Big East selection from last season, finished tied for 34th overall (+6). Additionally, freshman Darrelyn Webster, a standout coming from Anderson High School in Austin, Tx., finished tied for 30th place at (+5), while senior international student Erin Kim (below) finished tied for fifteenth at (+5).

The tournament opened up with Xavier finishing third in the opening round, only stroking three over par. By the second round, the Muskies squeaked into first place, putting them one stroke ahead of California Baptist University. By the last day, they had fallen back to second, finishing five strokes behind the champions Cal Baptist.

The Musketeers are coming off their fourth straight Big East Team Championship last April. The Muskies are the first team in Big East history to win four team titles in a row. Additionally, because of the conference championships, the Muskies also made it to the NCAA Tournament four seasons in a row, finishing as high as seventh at the NCAA Westfield Regional in 2023 for a new school high place.

Coach Breanna Jenco returns for the women’s team, the reigning Big East Coach of the Year, an honor she has been awarded four other times in her career. 

“Coach Jenco ensures our practices are not light, as we are committed to improving every day,” Reemsnyder said.

In addition, the women’s team returns three golfers from their postseason NCAA Regional seventh-place roster, with Carter and Reemsnyder earning All-Big East honors after the end of last season.

This season, the Muskies are set to participate in five different invitationals ranging in location from the Spring Break Shootout in Dade City, Fla. to the Pinetree Country Club Women’s Collegiate tournament in Kennesaw, Ga. Additionally, the women will head to the Chattanooga Classic in Tenn. before heading to the Big East Championship in Beaufort, S.C.

Up next for the Muskies is a l trip to the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. for the Momentum Transportation Northern Florida Collegiate tournament, held from March 4 to the 5.