Women's Golf Revamps Team

The Middlebury women’s golf team heads into the 2018-19 season with only six players. The Panthers graduated three players from last year’s roster, while welcoming a new first-year Panther, Maddy Cordeiro, and a junior who also plays ice hockey, Anna Zumwinkle.  Although small in number, the talent and hard work run deep. The team is planning to build off of last year’s fantastic season, where Middlebury finished in the top four of every tournament they competed in. Their main focus is winning this year’s NESCAC Championships, where they came in third last season. 

Bill Mandigo, the head coach of both the women’s golf and women’s ice hockey team, will enter his 11th year in the program. He is optimistic heading into the fall season, hoping to tee off to a good start at the St. Lawrence Invitational on September 9 and 10. 

A dominant force to continue looking out for is Chloe Levins ’20, who scored consistently throughout the past year. In her strong 2017-18 season, she placed in the top 10 in four of her tournaments, and garnered NESCAC second-team honors last fall and WCGA All-American Scholar the following spring. 

Junior Blake Yaccino, a second-team NESCAC selection last season, will be relied upon this year as a catalyst for the Panthers. She placed fifth in the NESCAC Championships and scored in the top 12 in four of her five tournaments.

Helen Dailey ’19 will also be looked upon as a consistent scorer after last year’s successful season. Dailey played in every tournament last year, cracking a 157 to tie for sixth place in the conference championships. 

Another major contributor in the lineup is sophomore Erika Nakagawa, who competed in all but two tournaments last year. 

The team will open the fall portion of their 2018-2019 season in New York at the St. Lawrence Invitational on September 9 and 10. The following week, Middlebury will travel to Massachusetts for the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational hosted by Wellesley, and then travel to Mount Holyoke the weekend after that. On the weekend of September 29 and 30, the Panthers will take on a NESCAC rival, the Williams Ephs, at the Williams Fall Classic, before concluding their season by hosting the NESCAC Championships in the George Phinney Golf Classic on October 6-7.