St. John Fisher College has announced it will be adding women’s golf to its athletic program. This will be Fisher’s 14th NCAA Division III varsity sport and will begin competing this fall. 

Last year, 11 of Fisher’s 13 programs advanced to the postseason, with the men’s golf team enjoying the greatest success, finishing third at the Division III Championship, with Scott Harris Jr. (Honeoye/Honeoye) winning the College’s first national title in the individual competition.

“We’re very excited about adding women’s golf,” says athletic director Bob Ward, now in his 22nd year at the College.  “We felt as though women’s golf was a perfect fit to our athletic program and I think it’s a sport we can be very successful in right away.”

Bob Simms, who also serves as the men’s golf coach, will coach the women’s team.    This past May, Simms was named as the Eaton Golf Pride National Coach of the Year for Division III after leading the men’s team to a third-place finish in the NCAA Division III Championship.

While this will be the first season for a women’s golf team, it won’t be the first time Fisher has featured a female golfer.  Current sophomore Joelle Sacheli (Pittsford Mendon/Pittsford) competed this past year as an individual golfer and placed third overall in her final tournament.

The women’s golf team is scheduled to play in at least nine tournaments this upcoming year (six in the fall, three in the spring).  Mercy’s Alex Battle highlights Simms’ recruiting class.  Battle is a two-time RDGA Junior champion, who finished second overall at last year’s Section V Championship and was named to the All-Greater Rochester Girls Golf Team.

“St. John Fisher College has a lot to offer, both academically and athletically,” Ward says.  “This is a brand new program, but I’ve talked to a lot of these of young women and they are excited about the opportunity.”