Led by head coach Tom Stanfa and junior captain Heidi Etter, the Chapel Hill High School women’s golf team concluded its fall season with multiple top-five finishes and qualified a player for the state playoffs—something the team hadn’t achieved in nearly a decade.
Etter became the first Tiger golfer in a decade to qualify for the 4A state tournament, finishing tied for 51st out of 92 competitors during the October 23-24 championship.
“I was really proud to represent our school at the state level, and it made me even more excited for the future of the team,” Etter said. “I’m aiming to get back to states and finish in the top third of the players there since I finished right in the middle this year.”
In conference play, the Tigers consistently performed well, finishing third in five matches, including a strong showing at a Burlington conference match on September 23, narrowly missing second place by just three points.
“Our team is young and full of novice golfers, but they are all getting better, and the future of the program looks bright,” Stanfa said.
Individual achievements were central to the team’s season. Etter led the way with outstanding performances, including a personal best 9-hole score of 41 on August 21 against Carrboro High School. She played in seven matches and earned Player of the Game honors three times.
Sophomore Madelyn Schoenfisch, in her second season, emerged as a key contributor. She achieved her personal best of 48 during a September 23 conference match, the team’s second-best individual score of the season.
Senior Catherine Gravatt also shot a personal best of 54 during the September 26 senior night match against Carrboro, earning her Player of the Game recognition.
Senior Grace Harper, a three-year team member who shot a personal best of 61 during the season, reflected on her growth.
“My favorite memory was shooting a personal best in my last round of the season,” Harper said.
The Tigers’ emphasis on skill development and fostering a supportive team culture helped to define the season.
“[The golf team] is not a stressful environment, so golfers are able to develop their skills without fear of judgment,” Gravatt shared.
The program has come a long way since its Big East 4A debut during the 2015-16 school year, when it began with just three players. This year, the team boasted an 18-player roster, nine of whom were returning athletes.
“Our future looks bright as we have a lot of hard-working and motivated golfers coming back next year who have shown incredible growth this year,” Stanfa said. “If they follow this same trajectory, we have a solid chance at qualifying golfers for regionals and even the state tournament.”
