Emma McGreal shot an 87 to finish in eighth place overall at the 2019 Midwest Classic at Skyland Pines Golf Course in Canton on Saturday.
Behind McGreal, the Blue Devils shot 370 as a team to finish in fourth place.
“Historically, that’s a real tough course and this year I think the greens were playing faster than ever. I was real pleased from top to bottom with our girls today,” Independence coach Karl Schuld said. “They made some adjustments as the round went on. If you look at the scores from front to back, most of our girls went down on the back. It was an excellent day.”
Allie Ksiazka shot a 90 and Morgan Pascarella finished with a 91. Alexis Kovesdi shot a career-best 102 to round out the scoring for the Blue Devils. Reese Vilcheck also competed. She finished with a career-low 103.
“They’ve been doing a lot of work on their own and that says a lot,” Schuld said of Kov. “That says they want to get better. I told the girls we were going to work on chipping and putting and the rest they’d have to do on their own and I’m real proud of those two.”
As a team, Independence finished with the best score of all the Division II teams that competed in the event.
The Blue Devils continue to improve thanks to the depth they’ve built this season.
“We’re starting to get some real competition for that coveted five-spot,” Schuld said. “We’ve got one girl that sat out today and she’s had a good year. The more girls you get to push and want to be part of something special, I think it’s better for everybody. There’s been tremendous improvement from everybody who we put in that fourth and fifth spot. They’re all working hard and we have a good mix of kids. Again, Emma leads the way and sets the example and the other kids are following right there with her.”
Independence has dual matches against Chagrin Falls and Hawken on Tuesday and Thursday then will host the Independence Blue Devil Invitational on Saturday.
