Senior Cybil Stillson and first-year Addi Kooi led the team with scores of eight over par at the Redbird Fall Invitational. Photo by Drew Kosmak.

ADDISON DUKUS | STAFF REPORTER | adukus@butler.edu 

The women’s golf team started its fall season hot, placing third overall in the Redbird Fall Invitational on Sept. 7-8.

This year, the team is comprised of eight players, all with a variety of experience. The team welcomed first-years Addi Kooi and Samantha Von Rohr, who are looking to make contributions to a group that had seven top-three finishes in their 11 regular-season tournaments last season.

Kooi has started off strong, tying for 12th place individually during the first tournament of the fall season alongside senior Cybil Stillson, a skilled veteran on the team. Stillson has improved her scoring average each year at Butler, and the trend shows no signs of stopping.

The team also includes sophomore Treva Dodd, who had five top-10 finishes individually as well as an impressive three rounds under par last season.

The Bulldogs look to improve in several ways, aiming to refine their game to see tangible results at their upcoming tournaments. To do this, they are focused on supporting each other while maintaining a competitive atmosphere, which will ultimately allow them to make some small, yet important improvements.

Playing for the team

Golf is a demanding sport, and it can be difficult to remain mentally tough. With a long season, the players look to each other for encouragement and motivation. Both Dodd and Stillson commented on the team chemistry that will carry them through the long spring season. 

“I’ve been able to improve the way I have as an individual player because I’m surrounded by such great golfers in my teammates,” Stillson said.

While Stillson attributed much of her success to her teammates’ support, Dodd remembered how much she appreciated that encouraging environment, especially last season as a first-year.

“The upperclassmen that I was always traveling with were there for me every step of the way [and] congratulated me after every single thing that I did,” Dodd said. 

Having a supportive, welcoming environment is ingrained in this team’s foundation and Dodd believes an atmosphere of support will help them be successful in their season. However, the team understands that the collegiate game requires a high level of play to compete with other schools.  

“I think going into this year, I feel like we’re a lot more competitive as a smaller team…and I just want us to come back with a win or two or three.” Dodd said, “The competitive atmosphere is really pushing us.”

Not only is the team competing against other schools, but they also have healthy competition within their own team.

Having a small team can fuel pressure, but Stillson sees it as an advantage that allows them to push each other every day out on the course.

“We compete often against one another,” Stillson said. “We have to qualify each weekend, so even though I would say we’re close friends, we’re still on our toes to try and beat each other.”

Improving every day

As the team’s head coach since 2019, Christie Cates has continued to grow the program. She has coached the team to six tournament wins so far and has improved the team’s scoring average each year. As a Butler alumna herself, Cates knows what it is like to be in her players’ shoes and believes her experience as a student and athlete will help her coach the team to success this season. 

“I always think if you can kind of relate to what people are going through, you can get through to them and coach them better,” Cates said. 

Cates plans to use the fall to prepare her players for the upcoming spring season and emphasized the importance of making small improvements over the course of fall tournaments and practices.

“[Our goal] is to get a little bit better [every tournament and practice],” Cates said. “The fall is used to get better and prepare for the spring [season].”

The women’s golf team looks to continue its early success as it competes at home for the Butler Fall Invitational on Sept. 29-30. With a total of 11 tournaments — five in the fall and six in the spring — the team will have many opportunities to showcase its skills. All of this leads up to the Big East Championships from April 25-27.

With a strong group of players, the team hopes to go far in their upcoming season.

“We have a great opportunity,” Stillson said. “Hopefully [we] can bring some hardware back to Butler in April.”