WINONA LAKE – With the start of the 2023-24 season finally here for Grace College’s women’s golf, there will be many new faces that lead the charge forward this fall.
After a record-breaking season a year ago, Grace graduated half of its roster which included five players that were a part of the 2019 NCCAA National Championship team
“We graduated six amazing seniors in May,” said Grace head coach Denny Duncan. “That group rewrote our record book, and enriched the culture of the program in ways I expect to last for years to come. In many ways, this year will feel like the beginning of a new era.”
The “new era” as Duncan coined it, will begin in earnest, as the Lancers welcome five freshmen to the team this fall. The freshman class is made up of Grace Beerman, Reagan Clifton, Grace Martin, Anna Rickey and Leah Starcher.
“We have a lot of new faces that boast a lot of potential,” Duncan commented. “The ladies in this class enjoyed excellent high school careers and come to us with the potential to make a significant impact both this year and the years to come.”
Despite the influx of youth that the Lancers will have this season, Duncan’s message remains consistent to what he tells his team each year. “We want to improve a little each day. There are things we would like to do in terms of conference placement and national tournaments, but some of that fall outside of our control. The only thing that we can control is the effort that we put into bettering ourselves each day.”
Helping Duncan usher in the fresh faces will be Grace’s three upperclassmen Grace May, Sydney Cesare and the lone senior Hannah Godfrey.
“These three have met biweekly to build leadership skills and develop strategies to make the team better,” Duncan said of the trio. They are already doing the things that we need our leaders to do.”
Raigan King also drew praise from Duncan as he raved about the sophomore’s importance to team chemistry and her spiritual leadership.
On the course, Duncan will rely on his two returning starters, May and Brette Hanavan, to lead the way but also expects Beerman to make an impact in her first season.
“Grace (May) has been one of the best players in the conference the past two years despite battling injury and Brette came within an eyelash of winning the Crossroads League Championship as a freshman," Duncan noted. “Grace (Beerman) is the most accomplished high school player we have ever recruited and we are excited for the immediate impact that she will have.”
Duncan noted that the biggest obstacle facing his team this year would be the inexperience that many of his players have.
“We only have two players that have seen significant playing time in our top five. Duncan added. For this team to reach its potential we will need to overcome that lack of experience. We are crazy excited to get the season underway and begin that process very soon.”
The Lancers first tournament will be on Tuesday as Grace takes part in the Trine Invitational to begin the season.