Women's Golf | 10/20/2026 11:00:00 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2026 Women’s Golf Invitational Award Winners and All-Conference selections, based on results from the Empire 8 Women’s Golf Invitational, which was held at Lake Shore Yacht and Country Club in Cicero, NY on Oct. 11-12. Emily Mayer of Nazareth University was the Empire 8 Invitational Individual Champion and Rookie of the Meet, while head coach Bob Simms of Empire 8 Invitational Champion St. John Fisher was the Coach of the Meet.
Mayer won the Empire 8 Invitational Individual Championship by six strokes, carding a 165 for the 36 holes, highlighted by an 80 in the second round. She finished two strokes ahead of St. John Fisher sophomore Emma Sweazy, who was the 2025 Empire 8 Champion and Rookie of the Year.
Simms helped guide St. John Fisher to the 2026 E8 Invitational team title by 25 strokes over Nazareth University to earn Coach of the Meet honors for the second consecutive season. St. John Fisher had five All-Conference selections.
Mayer, Sweazy, Bethany Wineburg of Nazareth and the dup of Sarah Burgess and Hailey Baughan of St. John Fisher were the top five finishers, securing All-Empire 8 first team accolades. Burgess earned All-E8 first team honors for the third consecutive season, while Sweazy and Wineburg were repeat first team selections.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2026 Women’s Golf Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2026 Empire 8 Women’s Golf Invitational Award Winners
Individual Winner: Emily Mayer, So., Nazareth
Rookie of the Meet: Emily Mayer, So., Nazareth
Coach of the Meet: Bob Simms, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 First Team
Emily Mayer, So., Nazareth (Salzburg, Austria/International GED)
Emma Sweazy, So., St. John Fisher (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta)
Bethany Wineburg, Jr., Nazareth (Homer, NY/Homer)
Sarah Burgess, Sr., St. John Fisher (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt)
Hailey Baughan, Fr., St. John Fisher (Ithaca, NY/Lansing)
Empire 8 Second Team
Gabriella Dardis, Fr., St. John Fisher (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Savanna Warfield, Fr., Nazareth (Marathon, NY/Marathon)
Lydia Hickey, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Macedon, NY/Penfield)
Claire Draper, So., Utica (Watertown, NY/Watertown)
Emily Wyman, Sr., St. John Fisher (Victor, NY/Victor)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders
Lydia Hickey, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Macedon, NY/Penfield)
Sabrina Schultz, Sr., Nazareth (Kirkville, NY/Chittenango)
Olivia Hatch, Jr., Keuka (Elmira, NY/Horseheads)
Sara Flandreau, Fr., Russell Sage (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook)
Emily Wyman, Sr., St. John Fisher (Victor, NY/Victor)
Jordan Dorrity, Sr., Utica (Constableville, NY/South Lewis)