The Riverside Brookfield High School girls golf team is coming off its greatest postseason in program history. The Bulldogs qualified as a team for sectionals for the first time after winning a second straight Upstate Eight Conference championship.
Juniors and 2025 All-Upstate Eight Conference East Division players Harper Jesswein and Fiona Lombardi and senior Alexis Busse return from the postseason lineup.
“This season’s strength is the experience this group gained from last season’s conference championship and sectional qualification,” RBHS coach Doug Schultz said. “You can see confidence this season that has carried over from last season. We lost a few great leaders but I feel that both Harper and Fiona have learned from that leadership and are ready to lead on their own.”
The Bulldogs again have a large group. Other varsity returnees include seniors Ava Allison, Avery Blair, Eve Colmone, Violet Furey, Reese Milchhoefer, Reese Nemeth, Genevieve Ramirez and Nicolette Ritacca, junior Kate Hamilton and sophomore Olivia Koralik. Varsity newcomers include senior Fernanda Becerra Barrios, juniors Antonia Black. Isabella Buczek, Elly Dickerson, Allie Ferguson, Lillia Martin and Mia Wichmanowski, sophomores Monica Munch and Nicole Robertson and freshmen Isabella Amaro and Belen Delgado, Abigail Hunter, Carly Kubitz, Olivia Lavoie and Abigail L’Odense.
The Bulldogs still have to overcome the graduations of two 4-year varsity standouts – 2025 individual state qualifier Lucia Vazzana and previous individual sectional qualifier Tali Schultz.
“I feel like we have improved from last season with our returning core working hard to improve in the offseason along with our new additions that are fitting right into the varsity lineup,” Coach Schultz said.
Jesswein and Lombardi earned 2025 All-UEC honors based on scores from the UEC Meet and duals. Jesswein also was All-UEC in 2024.
RBHS won last year’s UEC Meet (359) by 11 strokes to clinch another outright title after going 5-0 in duals. The Bulldogs’ one-division UEC title 2024 was their first conference title ever. Jesswein was fourth at the UEC Meet on a scorecard tiebreaker and Lombardi fifth, both shooting 91. Busse (tied for 17th, 106), Ritacca (tied for 32nd, 120) and Koralik (39th, 130) also were part of the lineup.
At last year’s Lockport Sectional, the Bulldogs finished 10th (361), four strokes from eighth, with scores from Lomardi (92), Jesswein (98) and Busse (105). Their third-place 363 at the Sandburg Regional gained the last sectional-qualifying spot by seven strokes. Jesswein (93), Lombardi (94) and Busse (124) competed for the Bulldogs.
“(The team) will be successful as long as we can keep our frustrations to a minimum,” Coach Schultz said. “We need to focus when those bad shots come and make sure they do not linger.”
LTHS girls golf
Senior co-captains Mekayla Genovesi and Mikaela Jones are four-year players for the Lyons Township girls golf team, which reached the 2A Lockport Sectional and finished seventh (353).
“Our team strengths are close chemistry and constant uplifting support. Whenever a teammate needs help, whether it be for rides, swing or the mental game, our team always steps up to help each other out,” Genovesi said.
With junior Caroline McNaughon and senior Lily Heflin also back from the postseason or West Suburban Conference Meet lineups, the Lions once again hope to step up at the big meets. In 2024, Genovesi also competed at sectionals but was among just three individual qualifiers after the Lions were third at regionals and one stroke from the third and final advancing place.
“Our goal as a team is to make it past regionals as a team. My personal goal is to make it past sectionals, whether it be as a team or as an individual,” she said. “The keys to our team’s success are to continue to be supportive teammates to each other, constantly strive for improvement and maintain confidence in our skills.”
Other team members are senior Jocelyn Mulder, juniors Dulce Rodriguez and Dagny Stromborg, junior newcomers Lily Alsvig, Alice Bruckner and Genevieve Butauskas, sophomores Molly Collins, Stella Cordova, Ava Hoag, Lucy Newton and Adella Romanelli, sophomore newcomers Kate Carlsted and Andrea Soria and freshmen Syeda Summer Ali, Alaina Heery, Katelyn Newkirk, Daisy Rodriguez and Emily Wesolowski.
“(Our strengths are) positive attitudes and effort of the returning players and the influx of new players to help us,” LTHS coach Jeff Johnson said. “Experience in tournaments always helps. We have a few seniors and juniors that return with a few seasons of high school experience. We will rely on them to help lead our newer players. Those new players will gain experience as the season progresses and hopefully will continue to improve.”
Genovesi shot 88 at last year’s sectional, eight strokes from the individual state cut, and McNaughton shot 90. McNaughton (87) and Genovesi (88) were sixth and seventh at the Sandburg Regional for the second-place Lions (341). At the West Suburban Conference Meet, the Lions were sixth (351) and fifth in the final overall standings after a 6-3 dual record. McNaughton (tied for 35th, 94), Genovesi (tied for 38th, 95), Jones (tied for 58th, 108) and Heflin (69th, 122) were part of the eight-player lineup. Collins shot a team-best 97 at the junior varsity WSC Meet.
“(Our keys are) stay inbounds, two-putt greens, relax and have fun,” Johnson said.