Skyhawks to field team of four freshmen, one sophomore, for second NEC Championships trip
NEC Women's Golf Championship Information Website
DeBoise is the lone returning member of the Skyhawks team that made its NEC Championships debut last season, setting a program low round. (PHOTO BY Crystal Ayn Photography) |
EASTON, Mass. (April 18, 2024) – Stonehill College will field a youthful team full of talent as it gets set to make its second appearance at the Northeast Conference Women's Golf Championships being hosted by Callaway Resort & Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, Friday through Sunday.
This year's NEC Championships will be contested over 54 holes on the approximate 5,900-yard, par-70 layout on the Lake View course at Callaway Resort. The course features water on nine holes, including five holes routed along scenic Mountain Creek Lake. The course's signature hole is the par-3 10th, which features an island tee and a serpentine bridge. Links to tournament info and live results links can be accessed at northeastconference.org or stonehillskyhawks.com.
Stonehill, picked ninth in the NEC preseason coaches rankings, is among 12 teams set to compete for the NEC Championship over three rounds. Two-time defending champions Sacred Heart University was picked first in the NEC poll with seven first place votes and is the favorite to capture a fourth title in program history this weekend. Nine-time NEC Champions FDU was picked second in the preseason poll, with Howard University picked third and receiving three first place votes. LIU and Delaware State University are tied for fourth with one first place vote each, followed by Merrimack College in sixth, Saint Francis University seventh and Wagner College eighth. Stonehill was picked ahead of North Carolina Central University (10th), Le Moyne College (11th) and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (12th).
Sacred Heart's Chantal El Chaib broke up a run of four-straight individual champions from FDU last season and the 2023 NEC Golfer of the Year and Pioneers senior is aiming to become just the second to repeat as individual champion in the NEC after Samantha Milosh from Saint Francis in 2006 and 2007 and just the third two-time medalist in NEC history overall. The Pioneers have captured the NEC individual title three times all-time as well.
Brodahl has made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season, coming off the first medalist performance in program history and earning NEC Golfer of the Week status (PHOTO BY Crystal Ayn Photography) |
Stonehill, under the direction of head coach Nick Crovetti, in his eighth year, will be fielding a squad of five underclassmen that includes one sophomore along with four freshmen who will be making their NEC Championships debut this weekend. Sophomore Jaelyn DeBoise will bring the experience for the Skyhawks after making her NEC Championships debut just a year ago at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida. She aims to improve on a 43rd place finish that saw her card a program-record championship tournament record round of 78 in the second round last year on her way to a 257 score (95-78-84) to rank second on the team.
DeBoise is second on the team this season with her 84.20 scoring average over 20 rounds that includes two sub-80 rounds, including a season-best 76 in the second round of the Advance Golf Partners Collegiate in Palm City, Florida, in February. Freshman Helen Brodahl, named the NEC Golfer of the Week yesterday, is aiming to build off the momentum built from becoming the first medalist in the history of the Stonehill women's golf program with her program-record round of 71 (+1) at the Skyhawk Senior Showdown last Thursday. She has posted eight rounds in the 70s overall in her first collegiate season, with a pair of top ten finishes, to lead the team with an 81.26 stroke average over 23 rounds.
Three fellow freshmen will join Brodahl in the Stonehill lineup this weekend, with classmates Sydney Hidalgo, Carol Pignato and Kenna Roman rounding out the Skyhawks five. Hidalgo has posted an 85.44 stroke average over 23 rounds, including a season-best 78 in the second round of the Navy Fall Invitational in September. Roman has recorded an 86.22 scoring average over her 23 rounds this season, including a pair of season-low rounds of 78 at the Lehigh Invitational and Bucknell Invitational in the fall. Pignato, whose older sister Hannah Pignato serves as the Skyhawks captain, has posted an 86.44 average after her 78 for a fourth-place finish and her first career top-five at the Skyhawk Senior Showdown last week and carded a season-best 76 in the first round at Navy.
Projected Stonehill Lineup
Jaelyn DeBoise, Sophomore
Second NEC Championship Appearance
Career Championship Finishes: 2023 – 43rd (95-78-84=257)
Best Championship Round: 78 (2023 second round – program Championship record)
Best Championship Finish: 43rd (2023)
Best Championship Score: 257 (2023)
2023-24 Scoring: 84.20 (20 rounds)
Career Scoring: 83.00 (35 rounds)
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Helen Brodahl, Freshman
First NEC Championship Appearance
2024 Skyhawk Senior Showdown Medalist (71); NEC Golfer of the Week (4/17)
2023-24 Scoring: 81.26 (23 rounds)
Sydney Hidalgo, Freshman
First NEC Championship Appearance
2023-24 Scoring: 85.44 (23 rounds)
Carol Pignato, Freshman
First NEC Championship Appearance
2023-24 Scoring: 86.44 (23 rounds)
Kenna Roman, Freshman
First NEC Championship Appearance
2023-24 Scoring: 86.22 (23 rounds)
Stonehill All-Time Conference Championship Results
2023 NEC: 10th (367-349-335=1051) at LPGA International Hills Course; Daytona Beach, Florida
NE10 Fall 2021:4th (338-336=694) at Beaver Meadow Golf Course; Concord, New Hampshire
NE10 Spring 2021: 2nd (357-356=713) at Cold Spring Country Club; Belchertown, Massachusetts
2019 NE10: 6th (332-354=686) at Shenendoah Golf Course; Verona, New York
2018 NE10: 5th Place (352-347=699) at Capital Hills GC; Albany New York
2017 NE10: No Team Score at Haverhill Country Club; Haverhill, Massachusetts
Best Team Finish: 2nd (Spring 2021 NE10)
Best Team Round: 332 (2019 NE10 – 1st Round)
Best Team Score (Three Rounds): 1051 (2023 NEC)
Best Team Score (Two Rounds): 686 (2019 NE10)
Best Individual Finish: 2nd (Julia Dapron, Spring 2021 NE10; 83-87=170)
Best Individual NEC Finish: T37th (Julia Dapron, 2023; 85-88-79=252)
Best Individual Round: 78 (Jaelyn DeBoise, 2023 NEC 2nd Round)
Best Individual Score (Two Rounds): 164 (Alexis Annarummo, 2018 NE10)
Best Individual Score (Three Rounds): 252 (Julia Dapron, 2023 NEC)
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