WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Seven Warriors became a part of history in the fall of 2025 when Eastern Connecticut State University established its 20^th intercollegiate program by instituting its inaugural season of women's golf.

The program was led by Kyle Gallo, who brought significant college coaching experience to the program which included stints as head men's coach at Central Connecticut State University and Western New England University, and, most recently as assistant coach at the College of the Holy Cross. In addition to his coaching experience, Gallo's resume includes over 25 years of playing experience, the Berlin resident having won 26 professional golf tournaments in the span of 16 years

The combination of coaching and playing experience made the Connecticut Golf Hall of Famer a perfect fit for the program.

At the time of the program's inception, Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier pointed out that she was inspired to begin a women's golf program due to the fact that "our men's golf program has been successful since the beginning, and I think that made adding women's golf a no-brainer. We can continue Eastern's quest for excellence and add opportunities for women to compete."


Having directed the Eastern men's program in 2024, Gallo – a former conference Coach-of-the-Year at Central Connecticut -- had already enjoyed great success with Eastern golf when he took over a young men's program that had won three Little East Conference championships, but assuming the reins of the first-year women's program  posed an entirely different challenge for Gallo.

"Coming into the first [women's golf] season, we didn't know what we had (personnel-wise)," Gallo admits.  "Our main goals were to establish a program, put together a schedule, find women who could play, and put together the foundation that nobody sees when building a program."

While Gallo didn't harbor high expectations before the season, he was pleasantly surprised with the results he saw on the course. He points out that the team showed great drive and a true work ethic throughout the process.

"It's all voluntary, there are no mandates, there are no scholarships," Gallo said in describing the commitment required to participate. He understood and valued the student athletes' willingness to participate and become a part of Eastern athletics history. "When people look at that (team photo), it stands for something special."

Among the seven who chose to join the program was senior multi-sport athlete Daria Fournier. Already a member of the cross country and track & field programs, Fournier saw the addition of the new program as a great way to "tap into (her) competitive spirit." She started playing golf recreationally during her freshman year and received a set of clubs during Christmas, playing when she was able.
 

Fournier has used her time at Eastern to not only develop her golf skills, but skills relevant to all areas of life. The 2025-26 season was a learning experience for the Farmington native, who learned how to stay patient and focus on the next shot. Fournier was Eastern's top finisher at the inaugural Little East Conference Championship at Valley Country Club in Warwick, RI in late October, placing sixth out of 33 participants and earning second-team All-LEC recognition. She credits her 15-foot putt for birdie on the 18^th hole as her favorite moment with the program, which sealed a eight-stroke improvement on the second day from her first-day total.

The Eastern women competed in four meets in their first season, traveling to New Haven and Keene, NH for invitationals, and getting the opportunity to host the first Warrior Invitational at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron in early October. While the Warriors finished second out of the three competing teams in Hebron, the true highlight of the season came in the last meet of the year, the LEC Championship. As the only first-year program at the inaugural LEC championship, Eastern finished ahead of three others teams with a solid fourth-place finish at the two-day tournament, setting the foundation for years to come.

The Warriors were fourth after the first day of 18 holes at the LEC Championship and were intent on maintaining that position through the second day, stated Grace Rose of Waterbury, the only "true" freshman on the roster. "We decided that we were not going to let those other teams [behind them] catch us. That was our goal. We said 'we got this.'"

Additional athletes along with Fournier and Rose on the inaugural team were seniors Celeste Petrowsky of Plainfield and Kate Sarra of Newburyport, MA, juniors Taylor Homiski of Columbia, Ana-Clara Silva of Danbury, and two-sport athlete Sophia Ramino of Haddam-Killingworth.

Until she heard from Gallo in a mass email early in the fall semester, Rose was unaware that a women's golf team had been instituted. She admitted  that she was initially uncertain whether she would join the team, but followed through thanks in part to the support of her family, especially her father, Doug. "He's a big golfer – he was the one who got [Grace and her twin sister, Faith] into golf – and he said 'you have to do it,'" she recalls.

According to Gallo, playing a major part of the success of the women's inaugural season was assistant coach Sadie Martinez, who joined the program after spending 2024-25 as the head girls' golf coach at Northwest Catholic High School.

Gallo described Martinez's involvement with the program as "instrumental," stating that he "couldn't have done it without her". The hands-on work that Martinez has done throughout the year helped everything run smoothly, said Gallo, who added that Martinez' assistance allowed the head coach to also make time for recruiting and the variety of other intricacies that go hand-in-hand with building a program.

In addition to assisting Gallo, Martinez launched Martinez Golf LLC in 2024, a coaching business focusing on beginner growth, junior development, and adult engagement.

When it comes to the future of the program, Gallo constantly seeks to create an atmosphere that a prospective athlete will want to be a part of. International talent could become part of the equation, as Gallo said there is an "overabundance of international players that want to be part of something, come to the states, and get an education."

While Gallo has a positive outlook and numerous connections in the golf world, he understands that nothing comes easy with recruiting and that it is meant to be a challenge, but one he is ready for.

In the spring season – the "non-traditional" season, of sorts -- the women can look forward to 3-4 one-day competitions. Gallo is hoping the Warriors will be able to host an invitational, just as they did in the fall, inviting Keene State and Western Connecticut on that day.

With the increasing amount of players on the roster and competitions on the schedule, Gallo hopes the program will be able to ultimately sell itself and contribute to the success of the overall Eastern Connecticut State University athletic program.