Women's Golf Wins Donald Ross Invitational, Guided by Gulla Again

9/22/2025 9:35:00 PM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

JCU's first-year heavy team continued to impress

WILLOUGHBY & SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio – It's time to start paying attention to what's happening with the John Carroll Women's Golf program.

The fresh infusion of talent yielded strong early-season results, but the continuing success is proving that it's no fluke.

Guided by Julia Gulla earning medalist honors by four strokes, the Blue Streaks won the 5-team Donald Ross Invitational with ease. To be exact, by 24 strokes.

John Carroll has already won two tournaments in four tries, marking the first time since 2010-11 that the Blue Streaks have won two tournaments in a season. And that year, JCU won a three-team tournament in the fall and a five-team tournament in the spring.

The first round was played on a hot, sunny Sunday at Manakiki Golf Course in Willoughby and the second round was held on a rainy Monday at Shaker Heights Country Club in Shaker Heights. Both courses were designed by the legendary Donald Ross.

Gulla's extraordinary start to her JCU career finished with a fantastic two-day effort. The Sagamore Hills native started off with a 78 on Sunday, with a birdie on No. 6 being her best hole. The rain slowed her down with an 80 on Monday, but it was more than enough to secure her third medalist honor of the young season.

Emily Burling showed out on Monday as part of a fourth-place effort for the tournament. The Hudson native started slow with an 88, but caught fire on Monday, plans sans rain coat for a red-hot 78. Birdies on No. 7 and No. 16 stood out as part of a two-over-par showing on the back nine.

Kyah Huckleberry played great golf this weekend, as well. The Ashland native opened with an 85 on Sunday before firing up an 82 on Monday. A birdie on No. 9 was one of her top moments, part of a four-over-par effort on the back nine. She finished fifth for the tournament.

Alexandra Yaeger started slow with a 98 for the first round before rebounding in the rain with an 87 on Monday, highlighted by a birdie on No. 9. Lauren Roof rounded things out for the A team with a 95-99-194.

Madison Maxwell guided the effort for the "B" team, aka the Blue Team. The Fairlawn native fired up a 90-93-183 effort for the squad. Hannah Prince followed closely behind with a mark of 92-94-186.

Meredith Thompson (96-95-191) and Irena Steffas (99-94-193) also provided counting scores for the Blue Streaks. Erin McCaffrey (97-98-195) rounded things out.

Competing as an individual after returning from an injury, Amanda Millis compiled a scorecard of 100-104-204.

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will host the JCU Fall Invitational on October 4-5 at Manakiki.

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JCU's first-year heavy team continued to impress

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