Emory University’s women’s golf team finished the 2023 fall season ranked No. 2 in the country and placed second at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships in October 2023. Ahead of the 2024 spring season, the team, led by new Head Coach Liz Fernandes, is looking to raise the bar for the program.
Fernandes became head coach in June 2023 after the team’s former head coach, Katie Futcher, retired following the 2022-23 season. Fernandes previously worked as an assistant coach at Spalding University (Ky.), the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and the University of Louisville (Ky.). She has also served as a teaching professional at several major golf courses around the country.
Despite having a strong fall season, which included winning the Lynn Schweizer Invitational in September 2023, Fernandes said the team faced many challenges. Several players missed parts of the season due to illness, and Fernandes’ first assistant coach stepped away from the position in October 2023. Junior Heejo Hyun said the fall has “definitely been a transition” for the team, and Fernandes acknowledged the necessary period of adjustment.
“With any new experience, there’s going to be growing pains,” Fernandes said. “It was a lot of me getting to know them, them getting to know me. And with everyone having their own personality and their own backgrounds, it took a little bit longer for some to buy into that process.”
Fernandes said she emphasizes open communication with her players so that they can come to her with any questions or concerns. In the fall, several players expressed to her that they wanted more time between events and the challenge of playing in an NCAA Division I (DI) tournament. Fernandes addressed their concerns when she organized the spring schedule.
The women will compete against DI teams when they kick off the season in Melbourne, Fla. for the Columbia Classic on Feb. 10 and for the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in March when they travel to Athens, Ga. Freshman Derica Chiu said she is looking forward to facing DI competition, especially since the team’s practice is “basically structured like a DI team.”
“[I am] both nervous and excited because I don’t know what to expect,” Chiu said. “But also, we have a great team, and we can compete against them … It’ll be really cool to see how we can stack up against them.”
In addition to open communication, making sure players have equal time to discuss their strategies and goals is also one of Fernandes’ priorities. Hyun said Fernandes is a “very accessible” coach who stresses both team dynamics and individual performances.
“It’s easy to talk to her,” Hyun said. “She holds a lot of individual meetings with the players, so I think that makes an environment where it’s easier to talk to the coach about what’s going on and improve.”
The team came close to winning the UAA Championships in the fall, finishing second behind Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.). While Hyun said the results were “a little disappointing,” the team learned important lessons from the championship and will use the loss as motivation to achieve its spring season goals.
Hyun added that one of the team’s overarching goals for the remainder of the season is to compete in May at the biggest tournament of the year in Nicholasville, Ky.: the NCAA Division III Championships. Since the program’s creation in 2018, the team has won two UAA titles as well as a national championship in 2022, where they broke the NCAA Division III Championship record for a four-round team total. Fernandes said she does not intend to change too much about the program, but she plans to gradually put her own “spin” on the team to build on recent successes.
“She’s very determined to get us back where we were,” Chiu said. “Hopefully, we can win the NCAA Championships this year.”
According to Fernandes, the team has been preparing for spring tournaments since the first day of class in January. Fernandes held meetings with all of the players, and they have been practicing on 18-hole courses during the weekends.
Fernandes said the team is in a “good place” after the transition period. The players and coaches know how to communicate better, and the team is aware of Fernandes’ high expectations, including her wish for them to keep elevating their game.
“I expect greatness from them,” Fernandes said. “I want them to feel like they can continue to always set a new bar and set a new goal. I have high standards for them, but they definitely meet those standards, and they continue to surprise me where they go farther.”
