PREP GIRLS GOLF: Area teams grind out tough day at NLC Championship tournament – Goshen News
GOSHEN — On a day where it seemed nobody had their ‘A’ game, the Warsaw girls golf team did enough to win the Northern Lakes Conference girls golf tournament with a team score of 353. The Tigers had the top two individuals as well, with Abbey Peterson carding an 83 and Olivia Robinson-Gay an 85 at Black Squirrel GC.
Since Warsaw finished second in the NLC during the regular season nine-hole matches, they earned co-conference champion honors with Plymouth. The Pilgrims went 6-1 in the regular season, but finished third at the conference meet Saturday.
Despite finishing tied for second in the regular season and a second-place finish at the tournament, Northridge officially ends the year in third place in the NLC.
The Raiders shot a team score of 363 Saturday, led by freshman Alex Reschly’s 87. Junior Karisa Dyer scored an 89, freshman Macey Riegsecker 92 and sophomore Addy Irving 98 to round out Northridge’s team total.
Reschly and Dyer were both named to the all-conference team.
“It was a tough day for a lot of people,” Northridge coach Ken Brewster said. “My girls, if you look at their scores, they battled on the back (nine); came back fairly strong. I was happy with that. When you’re playing foursomes like this, you kind of know it’s going, so I kind of had a feeling that Warsaw was playing a little bit better than everybody, and I felt like we were playing the second best.”
Brewster noted an area he’d like his team to improve on this week before Friday’s sectional at Cobblestone GC in Kendallville.
“We just have to make sure we know that we just have to play the next shot,” Brewster said. “Sometimes, we get down on ourselves and you let some holes affect some other holes when you shouldn’t. I saw a lot of good shots out there (Saturday); we just didn’t’ score.”
The program that has dominated the NLC in girls golf for more than a decade, NorthWood, finished fifth in the tournament. Like Northridge and Warsaw, the Panthers went 5-2 in its nine-hole conference matches this year. Their score of 401 Saturday means NorthWood finishes fourth in the final NLC standings.
The Panthers had two players named to the all-conference team: freshman Sophie Richmond, and senior Riley Kitson. The two shot an 88 and 94, respectively, Saturday. Other NorthWood scores were Kira Schrock with a 109 and Leah Rowe with a 110.
“We did not play well at all, but looking at the scores, nobody really did,” NorthWood coach Kirsten Schrock said. “The fact that the lowest was an 83 is surprising; usually it’s a little lower than that. … I think this will really push them to play better next week, which is where it really matters.”
Concord and Goshen also had players make the all-NLC team. Minutemen senior Madison Weaver was the lone selection for her team following an 86 Saturday, good for third individually. Concord finished fourth in the tournament with a 395.
RedHawk seniors Maya Narayan and Briza Tayagua-Delgado also made the all-conference team. They had scores of 88 and 96, respectively, Saturday.
All focus now goes to the postseason, with sectionals taking place this week. Concord and Goshen will be joining Northridge among those in the field at Cobblestone GC, while NorthWood and Wawasee will head to Rozella Ford GC in Warsaw. Both sectionals are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Friday.
2022 NLC GIRLS GOLF TOURNAMENT RESULTS
All-conference selections in bold
1. Warsaw, 353 — Abbey Peterson 83, Olivia Robinson-Gay 85, Claire Reust 91, Tessa Graney 94, Abigail Davis 95
2. Northridge, 363 — Alex Reschly 87, Karis Dyer 89, Macey Riegsecker 92, Addy Irving 95, Lizzy Irving 98
3. Plymouth, 370 — Hannah LaFree 90, Madelin Borden 92, Elaina McDonald 94, Emma Rozycki 94, Noelle Hutchings 102
4. Concord, 395 — Madison Weaver 86, Ryleigh Robinson 100, Avery McDowell 104, Mia McEachern 105, Mahra Chris 114
5. NorthWood, 401 — Sophie Richmond 88, Riley Kitson 94, Kira Schrock 109, Leah Rowe 110, Joey Slone 113
6. Goshen, 405 — Maya Narayan 88, Briza Tayagua-Delgado 96, Sophia Garber 109, Kendall Hill 112, Kiley Wise 116
7. Wawasee, 429 — Rylee Firestone 93, Francie McDonald 111, Delaney Delagrange 112, Molly McDonald 113, Taelyn Tom 124
8. Mishawaka, 510 — Claire Braniff 113, Lillian Stone 126, Kloey Kinnear 130, Ava Stopczynski 141
Honorable mention all-conference: Graney, Schrock, Rozycki, Riegsecker, Firestone.
Note: Plymouth and Warsaw are co-NLC champions for the season given Plymouth was the regular season champ with a 6-1 record in nine-hole conference matches.
Co-coaches of the year: Heather Woodward, Plymouth; Jack Carpenter, Warsaw.