Rootstown’s girls’ golf team made history Wednesday afternoon, setting a new nine-hole school record with a team score of 176 in a victory over Lake Center Christian at Sable Creek Golf Course.
The Rovers, who set the previous record of 178 strokes last season, did it despite not playing with the same lineup in any match or tournament this season.
“The cool thing about this season so far for us is due to injuries and other circumstances with kids having commitments at school like band and that sort of stuff, we have not had the same lineup for any of our events so far this year,” Just said. “We’ve had to kind of piece things together, and even though we shot a new record, we still have not had a match with our actual top six from last year. It’s been nice to have some new faces step up and really contribute.”
Ava Miller and Morgan Giebel each carded a 42 while Ella Derr and Camryn Lappe finished with matching 46s. Charlie Wilson also competed for the Rovers, finishing with a 58.
Giebel, Derr, and Lappe also set new career low scores.
“It was one of those days where all cylinders were firing,” Just said. “They were hitting shots and making putts. It was just a good day all around, from the top to our bottom of the roster. (For Gieble, Derr, and Lappe), Those were all personal lows for them for their individual nines. It was a great day. It was a bunch of personal bests and team bests.”
With the Rovers beginning their first season in the Chagrin Valley Conference later this month, the timing couldn’t be better for the golfers to be hitting their stride.
“I know the CVC is a tough conference, and we definitely got a tough draw division-wise with Orange and Chagrin Falls. Berkshire has some tough players, too,” Just said. “With that competition that we’re going to face in our league matches, it’s definitely a good thing for my girls to get those positive vibes going heading into those league matches.”
He added that while his top duo of Miller and Giebel are already in “mid-season form,” the continued development of the rest of the roster could make for a special season.
“As long as they continue to shoot where they’re at right now, in the low 40s, and we can get some help from the other girls, it’s going to be a real fun year.”
