Around The Commonwealth
( USGA / VSGA GC) remains a mainstay in the Bulldogs’ lineup. He had an up-anddown fall but posted rounds of 66 at the Hamptons Intercollegiate and 68 at the Fallen Oak Collegiate.
Marrion surges At the University of Illinois, Chesapeake’ s Trey Marrion( Cypress Point CC) had an excellent fall for the sixth-ranked Fighting Illini, carding two top 10s and finishing inside the top 20 in all four of his starts. The highlight was a T5 finish at the Windon Memorial Classic in which he shot 69 in each of the three rounds. His low round of the year was a 66 in the final round at the Fallen Oak Collegiate, which helped him to a T7 finish in that event.
Around the Commonwealth William & Mary primarily started a lineup full of VSGA members in the fall. The Tribe will enter the spring on a high note, as it capped the fall season with a win at the ODU / OBX Intercollegiate. To boot, freshman Eli Felty claimed the individual title with a 4-under total of 210 to win by one stroke. Other VSGA members on the squad include Grady Williams, Talon Dingledine, Preston Burton, James Gayle, and Matthew Monastero— who is finishing out his career as a graduate student in Williamsburg after spending most of his career at UVA.
Illinois’ Trey Marrion
“ You only get to do your senior year once.”
– Sydney Hackett
At Virginia Tech, freshman Benjamin Baker made an immediate impact in the fall, leading the Hokies with a 71.08 scoring average, including a low round of 65 in the second round of the Furman Intercollegiate, an event in which he finished second.
At George Mason, Vaughn McMeans will be a player to watch in the spring after posting a pair of individual victories in the fall( West Bay Collegiate and Nemacolin Collegiate).
A familiar name emerged at Old Dominion, as 2021 VSGA Junior Match Play finalist Cullen Campbell led the Monarchs in scoring average in the fall. Campbell, who grew up in Virginia Beach, started his career at UNC Wilmington before transferring after one season. Now a fifth-year student, he’ s getting ample playing opportunities and taking advantage. He shot a pair of 67s on his way to a T3 finish at the Elon Phoenix Invitational.
Women’ s golf Sydney Hackett had simple goals heading into her final year at Western Kentucky, noting after her loss in the VSGA Women’ s Amateur final that she just wanted to have fun and“ you only get to do your senior year once.”
She’ s doing it well. The Ashburn native has already won three Conference USA Golfer of the Week awards this season and was co-champion at the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate after posting a final-round 65, the third title of her career. Hackett enters the fall as the No. 55 ranked player in the nation.
Hackett’ s longtime four-ball partner, Melanie Walker, continues to excel at Missouri. She has three top-five finishes in five starts, including a pair of runner-up finishes.
Radford’ s roster is full of VSGA members. Macy Johnson made a big splash last year by winning a fall tournament, and Mckenzie Weddle followed in her footsteps this year by taking individual honors at the season-opening Elon Invitational. Weddle posted rounds of 68-70-72 for a 3-under total of 210 and her first career victory.
Staying in the Big South, past VSGA Women’ s Amateur champion Makayla Grubb has made an immediate impact at High Point University, finishing inside the top 10 in four of her five starts in the fall. The highlight was T3 showing at the Pat Bradley Invitational in September.
Two-time VSGA Junior Girls’ golfer of the year Kathryn Ha is seeing considerable playing time at Vanderbilt, posting an 11th-place finish in her first event in August. At Howard, reigning Northeast Conference player of the year Paris Fieldings found the winner’ s circle in the fall, posting a three-stroke victory at the Navy Fall Invitational.
vsga. org J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2026 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 9