Following a strong opening in the fall, the men’s and women’s golf teams have enjoyed a successful spring season, competing through conference play and invitational tournaments with their eyes set on grasping the national title.
The Violets kicked off the season in September with the 2025 UAA Championship, where the women’s team took first place after three days of competition. NYU defeated both Emory University and Washington University and tied Carnegie Mellon University, securing the UAA title. The men’s team finished the conference in last place out of four teams.
Now, the women’s team shows no signs of slowing down. After starting the season ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III, the team has won its last three invitational tournaments and has been ranked No. 2 in D-III since the start of April.
“The women’s team has done amazing,” head coach Brad Johnson told WSN. “We have a chance to hopefully win a national championship this year.”
The men’s team has fared worse, finishing 29th out of 30 teams at the Jekyll Island Invitational in March, but bouncing back earlier this month by taking first out of 17 teams at the Tim Brown Invitational. Since then, the team has had mixed results — placing fifth out of seven teams at the FSC Bethpage Black Invitational and finishing fifth out of 16 teams at the Farmingdale State College Spring Invitational.
“We’ve had some shaky past few years, but I really want to help the team go to nationals this year,” first-year Tanmay Chandra, who recently set a new program record, said. “This year is one of the best shots we’ve had in a long time.”
Despite the 2025-26 season being shaky overall, filled with injuries and a lack of balance between demanding training schedules and academics, the Violets have already logged a win — a feat that wasn’t achieved the previous academic year despite two top-three finishes. This season, the team has been able to place at the top of the podium despite a younger core.
“The important thing is we’re having fun and the culture on the team is amazing,” Johnson said. “I know they love being on the team and they enjoy their teammates. If you’re not having fun, you’re not going to be successful.”
As they approach the end of the year, the Violets must prepare for harsh competition, with the men’s team punching upward through the division. The women’s team sits just between Emory, which has held the No. 1 rank since the end of October, and CMU, which dropped from No. 2 at the start of the season to its current No. 3 rank.
The women’s team, which is set to compete in Palm Desert, CA, aims to maintain its mental focus in hopes of playing below par on the big stage.
“Golf is a very unpredictable sport, so you never know what can happen,” said Tiya Chowdary, senior and 2025 UAA Championship Tournament MVP. “There’s always just a little bit of the fear of the unknown. Your luck could be down, your game could suddenly stop working. The way I would combat that is just by having trust in myself and my team. That’s usually what helps me get through that.”
The men’s and women’s golf teams will compete upstate in the Liberty League Championships this week and next week, respectively, before taking on the NCAA Division III Championships. The men will compete in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL, starting May 12, and the women will begin play on May 19.
“Bringing in the right recruits and bringing the two teams together — that’s been the biggest piece as far as our success,” Johnson said. “Once you have that culture set, then you can work on getting better, and that’s what we’ve been really good at doing.”
Contact Sayako Ikeda at [email protected].