MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women’s golf team tees off its fall season this weekend with the A-Ga-Ming Invitational at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort in Kewadin.
The Chippewas are the defending champions, and the hope is that they get off to the same kind of start that they did in 2021-22 when CMU won three of the five tournaments it entered last fall, finished second in another, and third in another.
CMU returns its entire roster intact, a solid core that has taken the program to unprecedented heights since the first of them arrived in 2019-20.
They are led by the history-making duo of junior Ashley Goh and sophomore Casilda Allendesalazar. In April, Goh tied for ninth in the Mid-American Conference Championships, becoming the first Chippewa to post a top-10 finish in the tournament; Allendesalazar was named to the All-MAC Second Team, becoming the first in CMU women’s golf history to earn All-MAC honors.
Allendesalazar, a sophomore, and Goh, a junior, carry career scoring averages of 76.43 and 76.84, the best and second best, respectively, since the program’s resurrection in 2014-15. Senior veterans Zoe Vartyan and Padgett Chitty also return, as do juniors Rachel Kauflin and Claudia Salvador. All four have been major contributors during their time in the program.
“We do have a deep, veteran lineup, which is really good,” said coach Ryan Williams, named to head the program in July. “I’m leaning on that experience to help me through this first tournament of the season with them. Their course knowledge from years past is going to be huge.
“We’ve got a lot of great personalities on the team, really good positive attitudes and they’re excited about practice, excited to work hard and get out there and play golf.”
The Chippewas will be joined in the seven-team field at the A-Ga-Ming Invitational by Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Green Bay, Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne and Chicago State.
The 54-hole stroke-play tournament begins with 36 holes on Sunday and concludes with 36 holes on Monday.