Independence’s girls’ golf team entered Saturday’s 2017 Midwest Classic at Skyland Pines in Canton having won four out of the five tournaments they have played in this season.
They made it five out of six with a tournament-low 353.
“There were 17 teams here and I thought we had a chance to win it,” said Independence coach Karl Schuld. “The scores kept coming in and I thought we were in a good position. I was pretty pleased.”
Senior Sophia Trombetta, who finished third at the Division II state tournament last fall, set an all-time tournament record with a 70 to claim first place overall.
“It’s amazing how much a kid at that level can improve in a year,” said Independence coach Karl Schuld. “She is so much better than she was, and it’s ridiculous for me to say that because of how good she was, but she’s better than she was last year.”
Trombetta has now won six tournament titles this season and has set all-time records at both the Chagrin Valley Conference preseason tournament (64) and the Midwest Classic.
“Setting the tournament record is a great feeling,” Trombetta said. “My ball striking wasn’t the best today, but my putting allowed me to save a lot of strokes and capitalize when I did have birdie opportunities.”
Lyndsay Blum carded an 88 for the Blue Devils while Maddie Harper shot 95 and Madeline Mindzora and Allie Ksiazka came in with a 100 and 111, respectively.
“My teammates have been amazing,” Trombetta said. “We all have worked really hard to get to where we are right now. Golf isn’t a sport where you can take months at a time off, come back, and still shoot good scores. In order to keep winning, we know we have to work harder. Teams are going to be chasing us and that’s exciting. Our goal is to never let them catch us, and that’s something I hope we all are willing to work for.”
A heavy downpour didn’t help matters but the Blue Devils pushed through and overcame adversity to win the team title.
“My girls were out there in the rain when it started pouring and Lyndsay got off to tough start with a double, double, triple (bogey) within the first five or six holes and then she really turned it around,” Schuld said. “That’s what we try to preach to the girls, keep the round going because every stroke counts. This was a good test for them on a tough course. The fairways are real narrow and there are a lot of trees and fast greens.”
Independence hosts Perry on Tuesday.
