Hampshire’s Ellett has lofty goals again

In her first match of the 2011 season, Hampshire’s Connie Ellett did what true veteran leaders do for sports teams.

She stepped up to the tee box and hit golf’s equivalent of a home run. Ellett shot a 3-under-par 33 in Hampshire’s season-opener against Richmond-Burton earlier in the week at Genoa Golf Club.

That 3-under effort kicked off what Ellett, a two-time state qualifier, hopes will be a memorable senior season.

“I played very consistently and didn’t let a lot of things bother me,” Ellett said of her round. “I had been playing well before the high school season started. In the summer season I had a couple of good weeks. I’m confident going into the high school season. Shooting a 33 definitely gives me a boost for the rest of the season.”

Ellett, the daughter of Hampshire girls’ golf coach Sue Ellett and former Larkin and Burlington Central baseball coach Doug Ellett, credits her improvement to the work she put in on her short game.

“When I was a sophomore and a junior I worked on my short game, but not nearly as hard as I did this summer,” Connie Ellett said. “I also am hitting the ball farther. I spent the whole winter with my dad and sister (former Hampshire multi-time state-qualifier Taylor) in the weight room. It’s a big advantage when you can hit the par 5s in two shots.”

Ellett said her drives are in the 235-yard range now.

“I can get it a good 240, but that’s pushing it,” she laughed.

Ellett’s summer did not going completely according to plan, however, but ended up quite favorable in the bigger picture.

“I had one bad week in the summer and then the next week I came out and shot 4-under,” she said. “I was really happy with how the summer went as a whole.”

The experience in the summer, coupled with her high-profile high school experience has helped Ellett with her mental game. Ellett played in numerous IJGA, IWGA and USGA events this summer.

“I played in big enough tournaments this summer and never got nervous,” she said. “I was very comfortable playing.”

Ellett admitted going out in the first group in the Richmond match was a bit different for her.

“That was my first match without Taylor (now a freshman at Northern Illinois University),” she said. “It’s different. You look at it and time has flown by. It was weird (against Richmond). I don’t know where the time went. It was nice playing with Taylor because if I was playing bad she was the one to tell me that it would be OK. But it’s nice to know I’m the oldest one on the team finally. I can remember being a freshman and being nervous around all of the seniors. Now I will make the freshmen nervous (laughs).”

Sue Ellett noticed the difference as well.

“It was kind of surreal,” she said. “We dropped Taylor off at NIU. It was emotional. When Taylor was a sophomore and Connie was a freshman I was excited to see them around for three years. It seemed forever and then, poof, it’s all gone.”

Sue Ellett believes her daughter is poised for a big high school finale.

“I think so,” she said. “She’s a senior and has shown a lot of maturity. She had a strong summer schedule. That match against Richmond, she was in a zone. She was calm, cool and collected. It’s a coach’s dream to have a girl go play like that. She goes out and gets the job done. Her golf game is pretty good shape right now.”

Ellett is excited about the leadership role she has taken on.

“I really like it,” she said. “It’s nice to help the girls on the team and watch them improve.”

While Ellett’s end goal is to get to the state tournament again, she has other goals she would like to achieve before than.

“I would like to shoot in the 70s consistently for the 18-hole matches,” she said. “I don’t want to shoot higher than 40 in the (dual matches) unless we’re on an extremely hard course. I want to improve and stay sharp with my short game.”

Ellett has noticed one of her biggest advancements from freshman to senior season has come mentally.

“I’ve grown a lot as a player with my mental game,” she said. “I can remember my first match as a freshman. I was a nervous wreck. (Against Richmond), I was like, ‘Whatever. Here we go again.’ My game is completely different from when I was a freshman.”

Ellett, who sports a 4.0 grade-point average, would like to play at the Division I level in college — just like her sister.

“I want to make sure I get all of my visits in and find a school I really like,” she said.

Ellett is the only returning golfer for the Whip-Purs, who begin their first year in the Fox Valley Conference.

Juniors Christina Potempa and Janay Zirk and freshmen Samantha Sarullo and Megan Wungluenck round out the team.

“Losing three seniors in golf is huge when you count four scores,” Sue Ellett said. “This is similar to when Taylor was a freshman and we recruited some other freshmen to play with her. These girls are great. After the Richmond match we went out for ice cream.”

Hampshire won its opener by 30 strokes.

Elsewhere in the Fox Valley, Huntley features a team led by senior Natalie Nystrom, juniors Danielle Smith, Lorin Gorecki and Gabby Young and sophomore Zoe Dowell.

Huntley finished fifth out of 11 teams in its own invitational earlier in the week.

“We’re still pretty young,” Huntley coach Ann Christiansen said. “I think we are going to hold our own this year. It’s a good group of girls with a lot of potential.”

Jacobs took third in the FVC last year and returns juniors Danielle Nason, Victoria Tamburrino and Kaitlynn Woloszyk, along with sophomores Carly Andersen, Michelle Lamblin, Kelly Morton and Jacinda Wagener.

“I have high hopes for the season,” Jacobs coach Megan Placko said. “My number one goal is for each girl to improve in their individual game as well as the overall game of the team.”

Dundee-Crown finished fifth in the FVC a year ago and return top scorers in seniors Sara Tompkins and Kirstin Kaufold and juniors Lauren Wendt and Andie Huml. Freshmen Madeline Hunsbberger and Brooke Hayes are promising newcomers.

“Our team has grown each year and also has improved each year,” said D-C coach Laurie Herb. “We are looking forward to our best year yet. Our players have been out this summer working on their games.”

The District 155 co-op team (Crystal Lake Central, CL South and Cary-Grove) is again predicted to contend for the FVC title. The defending champions return defending individual conference champion Lexi Harkins (Central), who finished fourth in the state last year, along with senior Amalia Emma (Cary-Grove) and junior Ann Bandolik (Central). Freshman Larisa Luloff (Cary-Grove) is a key newcomer.

“We lost three of our six starters from last year’s that finished seventh in the state tournament,” said coach Kathy Speaker. “We are looking to see if we can find some of our younger players to fill those positions so we can possibly do as well as we did last year.”

The Bartlett-Streamwood-South Elgin co-op team recently scored a 202-232 win over Jacobs at Bartlett Hills. Sam Coyne was the medalist with a 44. Lea Skuteris, Alexis Anderson and Kennede Miller also scored for Bartlett-Streamwood-South Elgin.

St. Edward is under the direction of new coach Bre Lamp. The Green Wave won a regional last year and return sophomores Lizzie Jazwice and Elizabeth Lamp from that group. Freshman Ryan Scully and sophomore Kelly Schuck are new to the varsity this season.

“We have a very young team. We are in the process of rebuilding our program,” Lamp said. “I believe being young is an advantage to the girls. They will grow and learn from each other throughout this season. Each girl brings something different to the table to share with others.”