Women’s golf at ETSU has the potential to have one of the best seasons yet this year, having signed on promising new players like freshman Sera Hasegawa. An international student from Gifu, Japan, Hasegawa’s teammates and coach already admire her.  

“Sera is a super, super sweet girl, who just always seems happy, and very respectful of the game,” said women’s golf coach Stephanie Shelton. “I’ve called her the little robot on the golf course because she just is unphasable, just very consistent, and determined.” 

(Contributed/ETSU Athletics)

Hasegawa is a freshman majoring in kinesiology. She enjoys her time at ETSU so far, where she loves being able to go out and practice anytime. She likes her coach and thinks everyone on her team is pleasant. Although the season has just been practicing so far, the first tournament begins on Sept. 20 with a course of 36 holes and continues the next day with 18 holes. The tournament will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, which Shelton anticipates as an important tournament.  

The team will then fly out to Colorado on Sept. 25 and then again just under a week later, which are tournaments that Hasegawa is excited about. “I go [to] Colorado, come back, and a week later, I go back to Colorado,” Hasegawa said humorously.  

Hasegawa started playing golf when she was 6. “My brother plays golf. I followed his practice, and I think, I wanna play golf! So that’s why I started,” she said. Golf was a little different in Japan, because the grass there was of a different variety, and she has to adapt to new courses.  

Today, Hasegawa is looking forward to improving her distance shots and winning tournaments. “I wanna go [to] NCAA championships as a team. I think we can do that,” she said optimistically. Shelton is confident in her team as well, citing the impressive practice scores her players have made so far.  

“We’re very fortunate to have her . . . Our program definitely has benefited having Sera here.”