Williamsville girls golf opens season undefeated
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Through seven matches, Williamsville's girls golf team has been unstoppable.

The team is 7-0 with wins over Immaculata (252-384), Buffalo Seminary (248-338), Sacred Heart (272-278), Mt. St. Mary's (268-282), Lancaster 252-281; 227-265) and Holy Angels (won by forfeit, posted team score of 227).

Not bad for a second-year program.

"The girls are playing great golf," said coach Steve Delisanti. "Their hard work has certainly paid off with some low individual and team scores. They really are great girls and get along so well."

"It's been an amazing three weeks," added coach Betsy Ulmer. "They've come so far in such a short amount of time. They all gel well together and want to be better players. We're really excited."

Regular starters in each match has been Williamsville East sophomores Lisa Saffire, Elizabeth Chestnut and Erin Giangreco, Williamsville North junior Caitlin Curry and sophomore Alex Novak and Williamsville South sophomore Katie Darnley.

Each golfer's score has decreased since the beginning of the season and in turn, has lowered the team score from as high as 272 to 227.

The most dramatic drop in individual scoring has been Darnley, who shot a 58 against Mt. St. Mary's on Sept. 14 and was medalist with a 44 against Lancaster last Wednesday.

Novak, who shot a 65 for 18 holes in an early match, had a 51 the second time against Lancaster. That same match, Saffire added a season-best 43, a decrease of five strokes, Curry had a 53, a drop of six strokes, and Giangreco and Chestnut added a 48 and 55. Giangreco and Chestnut's scores have decreased by two and six strokes, respectively.

Coach Patty Jordan said a combination of making adjustments on their short and long game and having fun has led to reduced scores.

"Sometimes people think you have to work at golf but there's a fun element that has really helped their scores," said Jordan, a former 13-year member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. "The girls are starting to see what they never thought was possible before. It's nice to see them grow confidence and have open minds to new possibilities."

Williamsville also got a big boost last week with the debut of Williamsville South junior Natalie Wisniewski, who shot a 41. Wisniewski, who played on the boys' team the past two years and on local junior tournaments and national American Junior Golf Association events, had been hampered by a wrist injury that kept her out of the lineup.

Williamsville has matches this week against Mt. Mercy, Nardin and Lancaster. They close out the season on Oct. 5 with a meet at Terry Hills Golf Course against Lancaster and a team from Rochester.

"We just love playing in the fall in the Monsignor Martin League," said Delisanti. "We have faced some great competition and we have had some beautiful weather. This week will be a great test for us."

"Girls golf is going to take off real fast and I'm very excited to be a part of it," he added. "After the improvement and success I have seen from our team and our competition, more schools should seriously consider approving girls golf as a varsity sport."

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com