Mekhala Costello of Blue Hill Country Club shot a brilliant 2-under 69 to secure a two-stroke lead after the first round of the 121st Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship in Williamstown.
Morgan Smith of Westford, the 2022 champion who plays from Mt. Pleasant Golf Club, finished second after shooting an even-par 71 at Taconic Golf Club, which is hosting the tournament for the first time.
Third place went to Carys Fennessy of Youth on Course/Mass Golf with a score of 72. Fourth place was shared by Shannon Johnson of Thorny Lea (73) and Allison Paik of The Cape Club of Sharon (73).
Last week, Morgan Smith and her sisters Molly and Maddie made history at the U.S. Women’s Amateur in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by all competing in the national tournament. On Monday, Molly Smith, representing Long Meadow, shot a 74 to finish in sixth place, while Maddie Smith, representing Vesper Country Club, shot a 77 to finish in 11th place.
The second day of stroke play takes place on Tuesday, before the best 32 golfers qualify for match play.
Defending champion Rebecca Skoler of Needham is not competing in the tournament this year. She was selected to her team at the University of Virginia.
Skoler defeated Molly Smith 2-1 to win the title last year.
This year, 62 golfers are competing. The youngest player is Reva Machanavajhula of Billerica, who is only 14 years, 8 months and 8 days old. The oldest is Danielle Lee of Concord, who is 65 years, 5 months and 20 days old.
The tournament ends on Friday on the challenging 5,879-yard course with an 18-hole head-to-head race between the last two match play survivors.
College Lacrosse
Lisa Miller, head coach of the UMass Lowell women’s lacrosse team, has announced the hiring of Ava Vasile as an assistant coach ahead of the 2025 season.
Vasile recently completed a successful college career as a five-year starter for the University of Vermont.
During her time at Vermont, Vasile started 68 of the 70 games she appeared in and totaled 219 goals and 269 points, both of which ranked first in Catamount history. During her junior season, she had one of the best seasons in program history, scoring a Catamount record 63 goals and dishing out 16 assists to help her team earn its first berth in the NCAA Tournament.
“We are very excited to have Ava join the River Hawk program,” said Miller. “It was clear from her interview that she wants to be a coach and is actively involved in practice planning, game strategy, strength training programs, and daily nutrition and maintenance. She knows what it takes to be a successful student-athlete in the American East and will bring a very competitive attitude to practice every day.”
Originally published:
