Independence finished second and Orange finished fourth at the Division II sectional golf tournament at Punderson Golf Course on Monday to earn a berth in next week’s district tournament.
Laurel won the sectional title with 361 strokes. Independence was second with 383, Beaumont was third with 391 and Orange finished fourth with 405.
“I was very pleased,” said Independence coach Karl Schuld of his team’s performance. “In that mix, we had three career-lows and that was our best round of the year. Laurel went out and shot a 361. They were in a class by themselves and I was very pleased for Orange making it out as a team. It was a good day for the Chagrin Valley Conference.”
Emma McGreal led the Blue Devils with an 87, good for eighth place overall and Morgan Pascarella cared a career-best 90 to finish ninth. Allie Ksiazka and Hannah Botzman both finished with a 103 for the Blue Devils and Alexis Kovesdi shot a 109. Botzman and Kovesdi both shot career-lows.
“Morgan was really bummed,” Schuld said. “She’s been trying so hard to get into the 80s but she golfed extremely well today. Hannah and Alexis both played really well even though the wind played a little factor today. Punderson is a course that is kind of difficult to begin with and then you throw in the wind and it’s hard to decide when you need an extra club.”
Orange’s Emma Briskin, a returning district qualifier, finished third overall with an 82. Leah Laisure finished tied for 13th with a 98. Jesseca Hudson-Turpin and Noelle Laisure rounded out the scoring for the Lions with a 112 and 113, respectively.
“We are very excited to qualify to districts as a team for the first time since I have been coaching,” said Orange coach Dave Chordas. “We qualified an individual last year in Emma Briskin to districts, which we were super excited about, but qualifying our whole team brings our excitement to another level.”
The Lions, who finished 10-3 overall, third in the Chagrin Valley Conference and second in the Northeast Ohio Girls Golf Coaches Association tournament over the weekend, stepped up at the right time.
“Today, our girls played with confidence, enthusiasm and with smiles on their faces,” Chordas said. “All in all, today and this season has been a total team effort from all of our coaches, myself, my dad, Rick Gripp, Paula Snyder, Gordon Young, and Chuck Jarrett, to all members of our varsity and our JV team. Everyone has contributed in their own way all year with many first and second team awards and we just kept that going today. We are super excited for preparing for districts.”
The top four teams and four individuals not on a qualifying team all advanced to the district. That group included Kirtland’s Cici Anness, who finished seventh overall with an 86.
“I’m really excited,” Anness said. “I was hoping to have a good round today and thankfully it was enough to get out.”
Anness, who played all season on the Kirtland boys’ team, battled through problems with her long game in the weeks leading up to the sectional tournament. She fine-tuned her swing and her approach and it paid off.
“I was having some trouble with my long game earlier this month, but my coach and I made a few tweaks that really seemed to help me out today,” she said. “Playing with the boys definitely helped me. Working to be competitive from the guys’ tees all season made the reds feel a lot shorter today.”
Hawken’s Erinn Slotta shot a 98 to finish tied for 13th.
The Hawks finished ninth as a team while Perry was 13th and Cuyahoga Heights placed 14th.
The district tournament will be held at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Canton on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
Sectional Tournament: (NE) Division II Girls – Punderson
Punderson State Park Golf Course – September 24, 2018
Qualifiers: Top 4 teams and 4 individuals not on a qualifying team.
Team Place: * Indicates qualifying team
1. Laurel* 361 (Jami Morris 71, Grace Durdle 97, Madeleine Bee 94, Emily Axner 114, Lauren Nassif 99); 2. Independence* 383 (Emma McGreal 87, Allie Ksiazka 103, Morgan Pascarella 90, Hannah Botzman 103, Alexis Kovesdi 109); 3. Beaumont* 391 (Natalie Noble 84, Lauren Bangasser 83, Nyomi Morris 98, Katherine Foerg 126, Olivia Panichi 136); 4. Orange* 405 (Emma Briskin 82, Noelle Laisure 113, Leah Laisure 98, Jesseca Hudson-Turpin 112, Casey Hart DNF); 5. Southeast 409; 6. Gilmour Academy 433; 7. Luth. West 435; 8. Garfield 437; 9. Hawken 447; 10. Edgewood 462; 11. Streetsboro 482; 12. Pymatuning Valley 489; 13. Perry 521; 14. Cuy. Heights 553; 15. Bristol 0; 16. Andrews Osborne Academy 0; 17. Crestwood 0; 18. Kirtland 0; 19. Conneaut 0;
Individual Scores: * Indicates qualifying individual
1. Jami Morris(Laurel) 71; 2. Jelena Lainovic*(Andrews Osborne Academy) 75; 3. Emma Briskin(Orange) 82; 4. Sam Webb*(Luth. West) 83, Lauren Bangasser(Beaumont) 83; 6. Natalie Noble(Beaumont) 84; 7. Cici Anness*(Kirtland) 86; 8. Emma McGreal(Independence) 87; 9. Morgan Pascarella(Independence) 90; 10. Madeleine Bee(Laurel) 94; 11. Katie Webb*(Bristol) 97, Grace Durdle(Laurel) 97; 13. Gia Venuto(Southeast) 98, Nyomi Morris(Beaumont) 98, Rachel Karam(Gilmour Academy) 98, Leah Laisure(Orange) 98, Erinn Slotta(Hawken) 98; 18. Brooke Tessean(Southeast) 99, Sophia Chambers(Pymatuning Valley) 99, Grace Mills(Garfield) 99, Lauren Nassif(Laurel) 99; 22. Rosalie Chambers(Pymatuning Valley) 100; 23. Allie Ksiazka(Independence) 103, Hannah Botzman(Independence) 103; 25. Lauren Amodio(Southeast) 104; 26. Olivia Sucato(Gilmour Academy) 105; 27. Larissa Randolph(Edgewood) 106; 28. Elizabeth Carson(Crestwood) 107, Callie Wabeke(Luth. West) 107; 30. Mackenzie Wood(Southeast) 108; 31. Alaina Goldstein(Southeast) 109, Alexis Kovesdi(Independence) 109; 33. Jessica Kelly(Kirtland) 110; 34. Faith Mills(Garfield) 111, Jenna Wolfe(Edgewood) 111, Mackenzie Vian(Streetsboro) 111; 37. Lauren Ellis(Hawken) 112, Jesseca Hudson-Turpin(Orange) 112; 39. Noelle Laisure(Orange) 113, Jessica Latine(Crestwood) 113, Sarah Seaman(Garfield) 113; 42. Maddie Fitzpatrick(Gilmour Academy) 114, Emily Axner(Laurel) 114, Evy Harrington(Garfield) 114; 45. Mackenzie Palinski(Gilmour Academy) 116; 46. Jozlyne Pape(Conneaut) 117; 47. Autumn Richards(Crestwood) 118, Nadia Kauntz(Luth. West) 118, Katie Hamrle(Hawken) 118; 50. Rachael Slotta(Hawken) 119; 51. Sophia Rogowski(Streetsboro) 120, Mascey Ciarlillo(Perry) 120; 53. Makayla Loomis(Edgewood) 122, Olivia Caruso(Gilmour Academy) 122; 55. Madison Irish(Edgewood) 123, Emma Johnson(Perry) 123; 57. Madee McDowell(Bristol) 124; 58. Zehmyn Al-Amiri(Conneaut) 125, Samantha Miller(Streetsboro) 125; 60. Katherine Foerg(Beaumont) 126, Sydney Woconish(Garfield) 126, Haylee Bellar(Streetsboro) 126; 63. Kara VanHimbergen(Luth. West) 127, Emma Patterson(Cuy. Heights) 127; 65. Jenna Gadomski(Streetsboro) 130; 66. Kati Vomberger(Hawken) 131; 67. Darci Bundus(Cuy. Heights) 133; 68. Taylor Racut(Edgewood) 134; 69. Rachel Teter(Pymatuning Valley) 136, Olivia Panichi(Beaumont) 136; 71. Rachel Cumberledge(Perry) 137; 72. Molly Cecil(Cuy. Heights) 139; 73. Isabella Vaccaro(Perry) 141; 74. Abby Morrow(Cuy. Heights) 154, Chloe Headley(Pymatuning Valley) 154, Marissa Thompson(Luth. West) 154; 77. Alex Knowles(Pymatuning Valley) 173; 78. Casey Hart(Orange) DNF, Abbey Clayman(Crestwood) DNF.
