Women's Golf Set for Season Debut at William & Mary Invitational

Sunday, September 9

Williamsburg, Va. (Kingsmill River Course)

All Day

Bucknell University

William & Mary Invitational

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Women's Golf Set for Season Debut at William & Mary Invitational

9/5/2018 10:37:00 PM | Women's Golf

Setting The Scene
What: 2018 William & Mary Invitational
When: Sunday-Monday, Sept. 9-10 (54 holes), 8:30 a.m. shotgun starts each day
Where: Par-72, 6043-yard River Course at Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg, Va.
The Field: 13 teams (Boston U., Bucknell, Elon, James Madison, Longwood, Marshall, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, Radford, Richmond, Stetson, Xavier, and William & Mary)

About the Bison

Bucknell opens up the 2018-19 season at the William & Mary Invitational on Sunday and Monday. The Bison return five of their six players from last spring's Patriot League Championship, including All-Patriot Leaguer Katie Childers.
Childers, one of three seniors on this year's 10-person roster, will go off in the No. 1 spot in the lineup at Kingsmill this week. She will be followed by sophomore Casey Morrow, junior Meredith Langs, freshman Sally Sohn, and sophomore Erin Holmes. Senior Eunbbie Kim will play as an individual.
Sohn is one of three newcomers on the roster this season, along with Morgan Hennessy and Sun Woo Jeon.
The lone graduation loss from last year's squad is Lindsey Dodovich, who was a two-time All-Patriot League performer and the team's No. 1 player throughout most of her career. Dodovich, who finished T-12th at last year's Patriot League Championship, paced the squad with a 78.2 scoring average in 2017-18. Childers was next at 81.4.
Bucknell head coach Lisa Francisco is very familiar with the Kingsmill courses and the William & Mary program. She spend two seasons as assistant to the director of golf with the Tribe and had a hand in all aspects of the women's golf program from recruiting to organizing travel and home tournaments. Francisco also served as assistant golf professional at Kingsmill.

Bucknell at the William & Mary Invitational

William & Mary hosts tournaments at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa in both the fall and spring, and Bucknell has made numerous appearances in both.
Most recently, the Bison finished ninth out of 15 teams on the River Course at the Kingsmill Intercollegiate last March. Bucknell posted rounds of 308-316-338. Dodovich was the low Bison in T-13th place with rounds of 75-75-82. Childers shot 78-80-86, and Morrow got off to a good start with 77-78 before finishing with a 92 in a tough final round.
Bucknell's last appearance here in the fall season came in the 2015-16 opener. The Bison shot 303-315-318 and finished in 12th place.

Up Next

The Bison return to head coach Lisa Francisco's alma mater for Penn State's Nittany Lion Invitational on Sept. 22-23.

2018-19 Bucknell Women's Golf Season Preview

The Bucknell women's golf team returns a blend of experience and youth in 2018-19. Katie Childers, a returning All-Patriot League honoree, is one of three seniors on the roster, but at the same time, the Bison will open the season with a freshman and two sophomores in the lineup at the William & Mary Invitational.

Coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2018 Patriot League Championship, Lisa Francisco will have five postseason starters back on the squad as part of a 10-player roster this year. Francisco is excited about that added depth, which she figures will create positive competition for lineup spots.

"I really like how much deeper we are this year," said Francisco, a former LPGA Tour caddie who is in her third season as Bucknell's head coach. "Everyone wants to travel, and they are all working very hard to improve their games. Our qualifying tournament was very competitive. Last year we pretty much used the same five or six players in every tournament, but now I envision more competition for those last few spots in the lineup."

Childers is the clear No. 1 heading into the year. She headed into the offseason on a positive note after a T-5th finish at the Patriot League Championship at Navy, which resulted in her first career All-Patriot League medal. Highlighted by a second-round 75 at the conference tourney, Childers averaged 81.4 in 2017-18.

"Katie is the strongest player on the team and the most experienced," said Francisco. "We look to her for a solid round every time out. She is working on her consistency, and she has the ability to be one of the best players in our league week in and week out."

Eunbbie Kim and Graysen Bright round out the senior class. Bright missed some time last year while studying abroad, and both have battled nagging injuries leading into this season. Kim will travel to William & Mary as the team's indie player.

"Eunbbie is just a steady player," said Francisco. "She goes about her business quietly, and she wants to contribute this year."

Meredith Langs and Anna Dailey are the team's two juniors. Last season Langs averaged 84.8 and Dailey 85.3. Dailey finished on a strong note with a final-round 79 at the Patriot League Championship, which moved her up to an 18th-place finish. Langs posted a season-low 76 on a couple of occasions last season, once at Penn State and once at Kiawah Island.

"Meredith is one of our more consistent players," said Francisco. "She has a great work ethic. She really likes to practice and it has shown in her game. She has consistently shot in the 78-81 range, and I think she has the potential to go even lower. Anna might have the most natural talent on the team, but she has struggled a bit confidence-wise. If she believes in herself, she can be a key player for us."

Sophomores Casey Morrow and Erin Holmes both showed quite a bit of potential as rookies in 2017-18. Morrow ranked third on the team with an 83.2 scoring average last year, culminating with a 20th-place finish at the Patriot League Championship. Her best round was a 2-over-par 74 to open the Delaware Invitational, and she began her career with a ninth-place finish at the Bucknell Invitational.

Holmes also made the Patriot League lineup as a freshman, finishing T-23^rd. She averaged 85.8, with a low round of 76 at the Bucknell Invitational.

"Casey has really matured as a player," said Francisco. "She is so much more knowledgeable about her own game. She knows what she has to do to be successful and navigate herself through a round. She has a bit of an unorthodox swing, but it gets the job done. Casey is sneaky long, and Erin is another of our long-ball hitters. She has a lot of ability, she just needs that boost of confidence that comes with experience. I'm really excited to see how Erin and Casey both progress from their freshman to sophomore years."

Sohn is a highly regarded recruit from Texas, and she qualified for the season-opener at William & Mary in the No. 4 spot. Morgan Hennessy from Bronxville, New York, and Hong Kong native Sun Woo Jeon are the other newcomers, and Francisco feels both could work their way into the lineup before too long.

"Sally is a real solid ball-striker," said Francisco. "She shot 73 on the last day of qualifying, so we know she has a low round in her. She has a level head, and I envision her being a good, consistent player. Morgan showed some nerves early on, but as she has gotten more comfortable with school and college golf, she has become more confident. She is not a long hitter, but she stays out of trouble and has a good short game. Sun Woo is a good ball-striker with a great attitude and work ethic. She is always smiling and really appreciates the opportunity to play golf. She needs to work on her short game, and as that improves she could definitely be a contributor."

The Bison have five fall tournaments on tap, including the annual Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 29-30. After opening the campaign at the William & Mary Invitational, Bucknell will travel to Penn State's Nittany Lion Invitational. The Bison will also appear at the Pinehurst Challenge and the Delaware Invitational in the month of October.

The full spring schedule will be announced at a later date, but the Patriot League Championship is set for Apr. 20-21. Defending champion Richmond will host the championship for the first time.