Defending champ Bryn Mawr and runner-up Roland Park set for another showdown in A Conference golf finals

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

Following Bryn Mawr’s worst-to-first run to the 2023 A Conference golf championship, the Mawrtians once again have the wherewithal to hold off last year’s runner-up Roland Park Country School at the season-ending tournament slated to begin Monday at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Timonium.

That said, the head-to-head match between the longtime rivals that went to Bryn Mawr, 2-1, last week shows that the Reds are up for the challenge — although the stroke-play format in the tournament may make things a little more difficult for them.

The Mawrtians, who have earned three solo (2017, 2019, 20123) titles and one shared (2018, with Archbishop Spalding) crown, have found ways to keep sharp and remain unbeaten this spring with an 8-0 record. They can complete an unbeaten season with victories over Notre Dame Prep on Wednesday and non-league foe Mercersburg the following day.

BMS coach March Klein said that finding practice sites has become more difficult since the Maryland State Golf Association’s Youth On Course program has added more restrictions on players hoping to use Baltimore County Golf courses, which has led to reduced usage by many local prep teams.

Even so, Klein and her golfers have been resourceful in locating alternative sites, other than their home course at Eagle’s Nest, to hone their craft.

The First Tee Learning Center at Clifton Park, Mount Pleasant and Forest Park have been Mawrtian mainstays, while the team also sometimes takes advantage of the Five Iron Golf facility’s simulators.

Despite those hurdles, the core strength of the team — sophomore Tatyana Smith, freshman Julianna Ishii, sophomore Caitlyn Navaleza and junior Riya Narasimhan — remains intact and inspired to succeed.

Smith, who lost by a stroke in the individual championship to Mount de Sales Academy’s Lani Park last year, continues to wield a strong driver and drop clutch putts, such as the 4-footer on the final hole that topped RPCS. Newcomer Ishill has made the Mawrtians even stronger at the top of the lineup with Navaleza not far behind.

Narasimhan, a co-captain with senior Cara Chow, is Klein's most improved player for a team with high expectations and strong camaraderie.

With three newcomers to the sport, Bryn Mawr boasts13 athletes on its roster, some of whom prefer to practice with the team rather than at their parents’ country clubs.

“It’s a testament to my kids that they chose to be with their teammates and not at their clubs,” Klein said. “They are very unselfish.”

To that end, the Mawrtians are united in reaching their ultimate goal.

“We want the kids to have fun, play well and do their best,” Klein said. “They are focused on winning the team championship.”

The team most likely to offer the most resistance would be the Reds, who were within a missed putt of forging a tie with Bryn Mawr last week.

Junior Ashby McGill, freshman Sloane Mitchell and sophomore Ella Clapp lead the charge for Roland Park, which has not won an A Conference banner since 2013.

RPCS coach Laura Shmerler said that McGill is an all-around good golfer, especially from the tee and out of a bunker.

“And, more often than not, she makes her putts,” Shmerler added. “She’s very steady.”

Once acclimated to being a precocious freshman on the team, Mitchell has used a powerful drive to improve quickly.

“She has come into her own at exactly the right time,” the coach said.

Clapp has a good sense of sizing up a course and using it to her advantage.

“She’s really long off the tee and is a shot-maker,” Shmerler said. “She always seems to know the right distance on her shots and she keeps herself in play.”

Shmerler said that the Reds feel really good about their chances to be very competitive with Bryn Mawr

“We can beat them, but we have to play our own game and not worry if we miss a shot or they make one,” she concluded. “I have talented golfers, but March has phenomenal talent. And they are nice kids. Kudos to them.”