Sports
By Ben Dickison, Staff Writer
Xavier women’s golf is now firmly cemented amongst the elite programs in the country. Bolstered by a foundation of six straight Big East Championship victories as a team, the Musketeers completed perhaps their most rigorous fall schedule yet.
The Musketeers traveled to courses in South Carolina, Indiana and Colorado to compete against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Florida Gators, Vanderbilt Commodores, Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Kent State Golden Flashes this fall. All of these programs finished the fall season in the top 25 of Scoreboard’s national standings. The Musketeers finished in the top-five teams scores in Purdue’s Boilermaker Classic, Furman’s Lady Paladin Invitational and Denver’s Ron Moore Intercollegiate.
“We knew we needed to keep pushing ourselves and playing against the best of the best in the country to become the best version of ourselves,” senior Madison Reemsnyder, who was named Big East Golfer of the Week for the last week of the fall season, said.
Reemsnyder placed 13th at The Ally, hosted by Mississippi State, after shooting two-under par through three rounds. Reemsnyder is a two time All-Big East selection and won the 2023 Big East Freshman of the Year award. Through the Musketeers’ five tournaments, Reemsnyder is shooting a team-best even par.
Xavier Women’s Golf was high-flying in the Big East
Every returner on the Musketeers’ roster has proven to record low scores in Big East play, including Reemsnyder’s fellow 2025 All-Big East selection Isabel Brozena. Brozena, a sophomore from North Reading, Massachusetts, placed fifth overall in Purdue’s Boilermaker Classic. She finished the fall two shots over par, tied for second-best on Xavier’s team with breakout first-year Ashley Kirkland.
“We’re more than just a golf team. Xavier is special because we hold each other accountable on and off the course. We have a family-like culture,” Kirkland said about her first semester as a Musketeer.
The Musketeers have had to adjust to weekly showdowns with the nation’s premier programs in all corners of the country, but see the heightened strength of schedule and hours in transit as an opportunity to create a consistent, joyful clubhouse culture.
“My teammates are always there for me and I’ve seen us be able to find the strengths in each other this fall,” sophomore Ivana Flores said, who hails from Caracas, Venezuela.
Flores is one of three players who crossed international borders to drive, chip and putt in Norwood. Hunar Brar, a native of Delhi, India, and Stephanie Woo, originally from Seoul, both recorded top 10 finishes in the Put Me in Coach Invitational in October.
Brar and junior Darrelyn Webster, a native of Austin, Texas, were impressed by improvement in the short game of the Musketeers, both describing putting as their biggest strength at the end of the fall season.
After decorated head coach Breanna Jenco departed in June for the University of Notre Dame, Xavier obtained a new head coach. Stephanie Young came to Xavier after four seasons as the head coach at Idaho, where her Vandals won two conference championships. She also led her alma mater Toledo to 10 conference titles as head coach.
The Musketeers currently rank 86 spots ahead of the next-best Big East squad, No. 156 Georgetown in Scoreboard’s national standings. Xavier will begin their spring season in Arizona on Feb. 20 for Western Michigan University’s Rio Verde Invitational.
Big East Championships loom in late April, with the Musketeers seeking to prove that conference titles are par for the course for Young’s program.
