The Girls’ Golf team has won all six of their matches so far this year, and are the favorites for their conference and section meets. And, they don’t have anyone older than a sophomore on their team.

The varsity team, led by coach Bryan Skavnak, includes four sophomores and two freshmen, making it one of the youngest teams at Blake. This can have advantages: captain Reagan Schoen ‘26 says “we’re really close in age and I think that’s made it really easy to connect.” Another captain, Loraine Pidot ‘26, says that because of the ages “there’s no hierarchy” among teammates, which helps the dynamic. Another thing that has helped them is the time they’ve all known each other: Addie Wethington ‘27 says “it’s nice…[that] a lot of the people started in seventh grade.”

Despite the youth in the team, maturity and lack of experience don’t pose an issue. Pidot says that “the girls on the team are pretty respectful and responsible, [which is] especially [important] since we play at Woodhill, which is a great privilege that we have.” Golf courses allow high school teams to play their courses, but it’s not guaranteed if used poorly. Schoen acknowledged one downside, saying that “the one con would be that we argue like siblings,” but they usually can get past that for the matches. Wethington says that “Bryan [Skavnak] does a really good job making golf fun,” which helps motivate their team. She also says that despite this emphasis on having fun there’s “still competitiveness on the team,” which they all agree is a good thing. 

While there are exceptions for events like conferences and sections, the team typically practices two days a week, in addition to playing two times a week, and then gets Friday off. While matches and practices are usually after school, other tournaments require missing school, which can be hard. Wethington says it’s “unfortunate” that they must miss so much “at the end of the year.” She says that “it can get overwhelming,” but is maintainable as long as you stay on top of your assignments.  

The team’s main goal for the start of the season was to beat Providence in a match, something that they accomplished. Their new goals are to win conferences and then sections, which would send them to the State tournament. The goal is achievable: Pidot says that while “we’ll all have to play well, I think we can definitely do it.”