Team Rhode Island Defends Junior Title
By Brady Garthee
USGA Boatwright Intern
HAMPDEN, Mass. – Team Rhode Island defended its New England Junior Amateur Girls' Championship Tuesday at GreatHorse.
Team Rhode Island continues its dominance as Lily Dessel, Adriana Eaton and Olivia Williams won the Invitational Team Championship thanks to a third-score tiebreaker which put the girls ahead of Team New Hampshire.
With this win, Team Rhode Island successfully defends its title and wins its third in the last five years.
“It’s an impressive feat and we congratulate the girls on their accomplishment,” said RIGA Executive Director Bob Ward. “Olivia, Adriana, and Lily represent themselves and Rhode Island with passion and purpose. We look forward to their continued development as players in high school and beyond.”
Dessel burst onto the scene this year in the RIGA events. She won the 105th Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship, made the semifinals of match play at the Women’s Amateur Championship, and also placed runner-up at the RIIL High School Girls’ Golf State Championship with Barrington High School.
Williams was a main protagonist in all of the RIGA events, as well as the high school events with La Salle Academy this year. She won the RIIL High School Girls’ Golf State Championship, finished runner-up at the 105th Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship, and made the quarterfinals of match play at the Women’s Amateur Championship. She's also a past Women's Amateur champion (2023) and two-time Junior Amateur champion (2022, 2023).
Eaton was a prominent player in the RIGA and high school events she participated in 2024. Eaton, a senior at Moses Brown, made the semifinals of match play at the 105th Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship and placed third at the 2024 RIIL High School Golf Girls’ State Championship. Eaton also won the 2023 RIIL High School Girls' State Championship.
As Team Rhode Island looks to defend its title and go for a three-peat in 2025, it is a real possibility that these three could be part of the 2025 New England Junior Amateur Championship Team at the Crumpin-Fox Club in Bernardston, Mass.