By Arantxa Taberneiro
Social Media Coordinator & Sports Writer
Wingate women’s golf is preparing to open its season Sept. 14-15 at The City with Spirit Classic at Cleveland Country Club in Cleveland, Tennessee. The team begins the season with a new coach and a five-athlete roster, four of whom are freshmen.
During the 2025-26 season, Wingate was ranked No. 1 nationally, winning the South Atlantic Conference championship for the second consecutive time and the program’s first NCAA South/Southeast Regional title before ultimately being defeated by Anderson in the national semifinals. Repeating this success may be a challenge for the Wingate Bulldogs, as sophomore Ines Marty is the only returning player. They also lost one of their most effective players, Amely Bochaton, the national player of the year and individual national champion. However, the newcomers bring individual competitive experience, such as freshman Antonia Emmerson, who won the 2025 West of England U18 Girls’ Championship, and Gabrielle Duhalde and Juana Milano, who have also excelled in international junior and amateur events.
Emmerson, from England, is one of the newcomers to watch. She is coming off a victory in August 2025 at the West of England U18 Girls’ Championship with an even-par score. Meanwhile, freshman Gabrielle Duhalde of Bassussarry, France, arrives at Wingate with a scoring average of 74.31 in the European Golf Rankings. She also won the 2026 Grand Prix de Pau Artiguelouve with rounds of 75, 69 and 71.
“On paper, our team might seem weaker than last year’s, but that doesn’t mean we can’t achieve great results,” Wingate sophomore golfer Ines Marty said.
Given the historic season they had last year, it will be unlikely for this new group of Bulldogs to match those records, as they have retained only one player from the 11-player 2025-26 roster. So far, only four new players have joined the team, all of whom are freshmen. Furthermore, with the arrival of new head coach Christian Pickerel, the team is not only adjusting to coaching changes, but also has four out of five players adapting to college golf for the first time. The Bulldogs have new talent, but matching a season with more than 10 tournament wins would be a major achievement.
