After a furious rally at the Big East tournament that came up just short last season, the women’s golf team is back in action and aiming for the crown this time.
The Hoyas finished as runners-up this spring, and for Head Coach Katie Brophy, there is no question that they have the ability to surpass that mark this campaign.
“I’m really excited about this year. We’ve finished as a runner-up in the Big East conference tournament three times now, and I know that on this team, we have a majority of the players that finished second last year coming back. So they’re ready to make sure that we have a different outcome this year,” Brophy said.
In an interview with The Hoya, Coach Brophy shared her outlook on the upcoming season.
“Last season we had three freshmen who came in and immediately started playing for us. Fortunately, they will be in the lineup this first week of competition, as well as one of our new freshmen. So we’re really building on a young team. Everybody that’s in our lineup had really successful and productive summers. … There is a lot of really good momentum going into this fall season,” Brophy said.
Those freshmen ¬— now sophomores — form the spine of a talented Hoya team. Alexa Popowitz was named the Big East Freshman of the Year after an impressive debut campaign last year. Alongside her are Christina Parsells, who qualified for the United States Golf Association Women’s Amateur championship this summer, and Pendleton Bogache.
Additionally, that talented core was strengthened with the recruitment of three new freshmen. Kate Evanko, Ashley Fitzgibbons and Paula Hong all joined Georgetown’s roster this season, and will look to compete for the five team places and one individual place in the Hoyas’ tournament lineup.
“We have a very competitive roster right now, and it’s hard to make the lineup … I imagine that probably four players will continuously make the lineup, and we will have pretty serious competitions for the last spot and the individual spot,” Brophy said about the race to make the cut.
However, it is not all rosy for the Georgetown women. Two former influential seniors, Mackenzie Boydston and Patricia Lee, graduated last May. Boydston was also honored with a spot on the Big East All-Tournament Team after an impressive third-place finish last year. Brophy had a bittersweet view on Boydston and Lee’s departure.
“We lost two seniors. Both Mackenzie and Patricia played in almost every tournament of their college careers. So we did lose two of our main contributors. However, we gained three new freshmen who look very promising,” Brophy said.
Still, there is reason for optimism. The Hoyas are a talented squad, and their unity is something to behold.
“There’s a lot of really good camaraderie. Our sophomores are best friends with each other, our freshmen and juniors are all very close. We have really good team chemistry, and everybody just really wants the best for each other,” Brophy said.
Brophy hopes team spirit translates into strong performances from faces old and new. The reshaped squad will be put to the test this weekend, as the Hoyas begin their season at the William and Mary Fall Invitational.
“I expect really good energy. Since we’re such a young team, everyone’s really excited to be back and playing, some of them for the first time,” Brophy said. “The ability to rebound from any adversity, and the ability to go out and shoot some really good golf scores.”
With some luck, Georgetown will be hoping to achieve great things this weekend. More broadly, the focus is squarely on another run at the Big East championship tournament.
“We just need to make sure that all of our players are healthy at the end of the season and that all of our team has a good mindset going into the spring season,” Brophy said in regards to what the team needs to do to achieve its goals.
Brophy and the rest of the Hoyas certainly seem like a team on a mission. Now, only time will tell if they reach their ultimate goal. Their first test comes this weekend in Williamsburg, Va.
