KEWADIN, Mich. — To start their 2024-25 season, the Loyola Chicago women's golf team ended play at the A-Ga-Ming Invitational in seventh place out of 14 teams.

As a team, the Ramblers improved their score every round to finish at 74-over-par (+27,+24,+23). Bradley took home the team victory with a final score of 46-over-par (+18,+21,+7), while Bradley's Caroline McConnell also claimed the individual victory in a playoff with a score of six-over-par (E,+5,+1).

"Overall, I felt this was a good start to the season for us," said head coach Brandy Johnston. "It was very windy for the first two rounds on Sunday, and I was pleased with how we handled it. We left some shots out there in the third round, but it's still early in the season. There's definitely a lot to build on as we head into next week."

Jolie Brochu kicked off her senior season in impressive fashion by finishing at 12-over-par (+7,+2,+3) for the tournament and ending in a tie for seventh place. This is her new career-high finish and her second career top-10. Her previous top result was a tie for ninth place at last year's Loyola Parkinson Family Invitational.

"The highlight of the weekend was the play of Jolie. I think it was her best tournament as a Rambler when the playing conditions for the first two rounds, her course management was solid and saved her several strokes throughout the tournament. A great start to her senior year."

The other highlight of the weekend was the play of freshmen Grace Hui and Madison Haugen in their collegiate debuts. In round one on Sunday, the pair finished their first 18 holes with a team-best four-over-par, which made them tied for sixth at the time in the tournament. Hui, who played as an individual, ended as the second-best Rambler with a score of 18-over-par (+4,+7,+7), finishing in a tie for 21st. Haugen ended the tournament in a tie for 38th with a score of 23-over-par (+4,+14,+5). 

"I was really impressed with the play of both of our freshmen in their first collegiate event," continued Johnston. "Grace posted solid scores all three days, while Madison led the team in round one and showed a lot of resilience in the third round after a tough go of it in round two. These two have a bright future."

Sophomore Cassie Psuik tied Brochu for the team's lowest round of the tournament with a two-over-par second round. Psuik finished the tournament with a score of 21-over-par (+12,+2,+7), and ended in a tie for 29th place. 

In addition, senior Cate Reisinger ended up tied for 46th place with a score of 26-over-par (+5,+12,+9), and sophomore Grace Durkin finished with a score of 27-over-par (+11,+8,+8) to end up in a tie for 50th. 

The team will have a chance to improve upon their start to the year at the Redbird Invitational in Bloomington, Ill. on September 8th and 9th. In the 2022-23 season, Loyola finished third in the event out of 15 teams.