UniversityӰԭs WomenӰԭs Golf Team Charges Through Inaugural Season
The new team includes athletes of all levels of experience who are charged up to be part of the UniversityӰԭs first womenӰԭs golf team. TheyӰԭre excited to build their skills on the golf course while helping to build a new program that will create exciting experiences for future Chargers.
September 23, 2022
By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications
Danielle Jastrab Ӱԭ26 started playing golf during her first year of high school. Originally, it was the idea of driving the golf cart around that attracted her to the sport, but it was the passion for the game and the connections she developed with her teammates that kept her year after year.
Jastrab, who hails from northern California, was originally planning to move to the southern part of the state to play for Matt Ward, then head coach for in Santee, CA. When Ward moved to Connecticut to become the inaugural coach for the University of New HavenӰԭs new golf program, Jastrab decided to also become a Charger. She is now one of the first members of the Chargers .
ӰԭIӰԭm excited to be in a new state, and I like Connecticut,Ӱԭ said Jastrab, a biology major. ӰԭThe best part of the team is how we all come together. ItӰԭs all about being a family.Ӱԭ
This season is the teamӰԭs first, and the student-athletes are already improving Ӱԭ or, in some cases, learning Ӱԭ their game while competing in tournaments. While some such as Jastrab have many years of experience, other players, including Hannah Catallo-Stooks Ӱԭ24 M.S., are new to the sport. After playing Division I softball as an undergraduate student, sheӰԭs ready to take a swing at golf, and she started playing when she joined the team at the start of the semester.
ӰԭI hope to learn the sport now so that I can play it as I get older and it can be a hobby,Ӱԭ said Catallo-Stooks, a candidate in the UniversityӰԭs graduate program in cybersecurity and networks. ӰԭBeing a part of this team is a little different from when I played softball because my teammates are younger, and IӰԭve been able to grow as a leader. IӰԭve enjoyed helping them navigate college and being a mentor.Ӱԭ
ӰԭImproving my gameӰԭ
The team will be playing during the fall and then returning to the course again in the spring. TheyӰԭll be competing in more than half a dozen tournaments and traveling for competitions. They recently returned from , and they are looking forward to competing throughout the northeast later in the season. They practice regularly with the , which Ward also coaches, at in Orange, Conn., just a short drive from the University.
Emily Florin Ӱԭ26, who has played golf for around three years, served as the captain of her Masuk High School team in Monroe, Conn., during her senior year. She was planning to join the UniversityӰԭs club golf team, and she was excited when she found out the Chargers would be launching a varsity womenӰԭs golf team.
ӰԭItӰԭs very different from playing at the high school level,Ӱԭ said Florin, a paramedicine major. ӰԭWe get to travel out of state for tournaments. IӰԭm looking forward to meeting new people, learning new skills, and improving my game.Ӱԭ
ӰԭTheyӰԭll leave their markӰԭ
It was the chance to build her golf skills that initially drove Mackenzie Gardner Ӱԭ25 to join the team. While she has experience played lacrosse, ice hockey, and soccer, golf gave her an opportunity to try something new Ӱԭ something that she expects will help her on and off the golf course.
ӰԭAs a finance major, I know many deals are made on the golf course,Ӱԭ she explains. ӰԭI wanted to make sure I wasnӰԭt left out, and it was a sport IӰԭd always wanted to learn. My goal is to get comfortable on the golf course and really understand it. ThereӰԭs lots to learn besides how to swing a club. You learn patience, how to get along with others, and confidence.Ӱԭ
ThatӰԭs exactly what Ward, the teamӰԭs coach, is hoping for. Now in his eighth year as a golf head coach and his 12th year of coaching overall, heӰԭs excited to be coaching the UniversityӰԭs first womenӰԭs team, and he looks forward to the experiences the team will have this season and beyond.
ӰԭOn the course they grow as golfers and as people,Ӱԭ he said. ӰԭThese arenӰԭt just teammates Ӱԭ they may become lifelong friends. In another decade or so, theyӰԭll be able to point to the team and say, ӰԭI started that. I helped get that program going.Ӱԭ TheyӰԭll leave their mark, and it will be incredible for them to have that kind of pride in what theyӰԭve done.Ӱԭ
ӰԭI am so happy the University now has a teamӰԭ
Ward hopes to continue to build the womenӰԭs golf program. He endeavors to expand its roster and coach the team in more tournaments each season. He also hopes to help diversify the sport, and, in particular, to encourage more women to get involved.
ӰԭItӰԭs really exciting the University has added womenӰԭs golf Ӱԭ especially at a time when so many schools are eliminating it,Ӱԭ he said. ӰԭThis is a great avenue for women to get into playing golf. I hope some of them will eventually get into coaching, especially since women are so underrepresented in coaching.Ӱԭ
The team has enabled those who are new to the sport, as well as those who already have a passion for it, to play at the collegiate level and to explore where theyӰԭd like playing golf to take them.
That was especially important for Abby Hepler Ӱԭ25, who didnӰԭt play on a team during her first year at the University. Hepler, whose grandpa used to take her to play golf when she was a kid, was a member of her high schoolӰԭs team in Poughkeepsie, New York, for three years. She was Ӱԭso excitedӰԭ when she found out sheӰԭd have the opportunity to play as a Charger.
ӰԭI really liked the experience of playing when I was in high school,Ӱԭ said Hepler, a forensic science major. ӰԭI am so happy the University now has a team. IӰԭd missed golf last year, and having the chance to be part of a team here is amazing.Ӱԭ