Tri-Cities girls golf preview
Top area teams: St. Charles East, Batavia, St. Charles North, Geneva, West Aurora, Rosary.
Projected starters: St. Charles East: Paige Jordan, jr., Jane Noelker, jr., Darby Crane, soph., Jordan Thomas, soph., Corey Guckien, sr., Meenakshi Bhati, sr., honorary captain: Anna Daley; Batavia: Tara Cullerton, sr., Marissa Muehlbauer, sr., Lauren Anderson, fr., Sierra McKnee, jr., Jenna Hopphan, jr., Candice Eamon, soph.; St. Charles North: Arianna Furrie, jr., Jordyn McFarland, jr., Margaret Zimmer, sr., Sarah Wolfe, sr., Jessica Grill, soph., Jorie Hurckes, soph.; Geneva: Abby Luchtenberg, soph.; West Aurora: LaRi Mitchell, sr., Jordan Lange, soph., Alex Robertson, jr., Mackinzie Fabrizius, fr., Kara Smith, jr., Jen Waters, sr., Samantha O’Brien, soph.; Rosary: Julia Callahan, sr., Maddie Kombrink, sr., Victoria Phipps, soph.
Scouting report: The girls golf season begins on a somber note: Anna Daley, expected to be a key contributor for St. Charles East, was diagnosed with leukemia only days before official tryouts began. “She is going to be hospitalized for the next four to six months,” St. Charles East coach Rod Osborne said with a heavy heart. “It’s a big blow for us. We’re all trying to work at it like Anna would want us. We’ll work together as an entire team.” Jordan, the Saints’ top gun, anchors the fortunes this fall for St. Charles East as a team. The tradition-rich program will have to contend with not only the absence of Daly but also a true anomaly at the underclass level: not a single freshman came out for the team this fall. “Rod always gets his girls going at the right time of the year,“ St. Charles North coach Chris Patrick said. Last year in the Upstate Eight Conference, Batavia ran the table during the regular season, only to have St. Charles North and St. Charles East finish 1-2 in the conference tournament. The North Stars’ Furrie has grand designs after winning both the conference championship and Class AA St. Charles East regional title. Furrie combines a classic swing with equally stellar ball-striking off the tee and a resplendent short game. The junior won the season-opening Conant Invitational Monday with a 73. The rest of the North Stars’ lineup needs to show consistency in order for the team to defend its conference championship. “I would say we are youthful and inexperienced,” Patrick said. “I think the (conference race) is going to be a little bit up in the air. I’m pretty confident about our girls.” Tara Cullerton has been at the core of the renaissance that has taken place at Batavia. Cullerton was a central figure in leading the Bulldogs’ to back-to-back regional titles as an underclassmen. The senior has the resolve to return to the state tournament after failing to replicate her sophomore appearance last season. “We would like to take Tara to the state tournament again,” Batavia coach Morgan Connell said. “She has a really strong drive. She has the potential to be one of the best players in the area.” The Bulldogs did suffer a blow, though, when Kayla Lehman, its lone state qualifier from last fall, elected not to come out. The remainder of the Batavia lineup is green in terms of varsity experience. “I just want to see our averages drop as (the season progresses),” Connell said. After taking its fair share of lumps the last two seasons, West Aurora has a collective optimism with its surge of players who tried out for the team. “I think this is the best group we’ve had since Madison (Whitt) left (in 2008-09),” West Aurora coach Chris Soulsby said. “(The girls) have put a lot of work in during the off-season. Some of them have even played in some IJGA (Illinois junior golf association) summer events.” Mitchell is an exceptional athlete and spearheads the Blackhawks’ attack. Luchtenberg is the clear-cut top player for Geneva. Rosary will look to rebuild after the top of its lineup graduated. “We lost our top three players to graduation,” Rosary coach Paul Iwanski said. “We are looking to be in the middle of our (tournament schedule), in the top quartile.”
Key dates: Aug. 27, Hersey Invitational; Sept. 3, Homewood-Flossmoor Invitational; Sept. 10, Waukegan Invitational; Sept. 17, Rockford Guilford Invitational; Sept. 24, Naperville North Invitational; Week of Sept. 26, Conference championships; Oct. 1, Rosary Invitational.
Predicted state champions: Class A, Champaign St. Thomas More; Class AA, Highland Park.