Over the past few years, the Pius X girls golf team has gotten significantly smaller, with many seniors leaving every year, and hardly any new players joining the team. This year, the team welcomed one new member, junior Genevieve Sovereign.

Although Sovereign just began golfing over the summer, the team has been very supportive and helped her improve greatly throughout the season.

“Coach Kolbas spent a lot of time with me during practice,” Sovereign said. “My teammates have also been really supportive in helping me learn.”

Senior Ava Jarrett thinks Sovereign has been an amazing addition to the team. She loves her enthusiasm and appreciates the new energy she brings to the course.

“She’s been an inspiration to all of us,” Jarrett said. “Even though she just started, she has improved a lot and kept a good attitude about it.”

Sovereign and the team have noticed a tremendous growth in her game since the start of the year.

“At the beginning, she wasn’t bad at all for being a brand-new golfer,” senior golfer Sally Henkenius said. “It’s been really fun to see her score go down, and everyone was really happy for her.”

While working closely with Sovereign, coach Stephanie Kolbas has also noticed significant improvements in her game.

“We worked hard on fundamentals and getting her to be comfortable hitting a ball and playing some tournaments,” Kolbas said. “She’s been able to break her scoring average. It came down every week and she’s been able to improve, which is exciting.”

Sovereign’s personal record went down thirty strokes since the beginning of the season, and she medaled in the junior varsity meet in Crete.

Sovereign has enjoyed being on the golf team, and she has a recommendation for anyone considering joining the team.

“Just do it,” Sovereign said. “It was really fun. I saw a lot of improvement in myself, and the people on the golf team are really cool.”