Magical finish for Marquardt; Prospect takes team title
There’s no doubt what the highlight film would be for the eighth annual Prospect Invitational on Saturday at the Mt. Prospect Golf Club.
Playing the first playoff hole against Prospect’s Ally Scaccia, Stevenson’s Nikki Marquardt found herself hitting her third shot 70 yards from the green on the par 5 No. 1 hole.
But the problem rested in the fact that ball was in the rough on the left side of the fairway and behind a string of trees.
No problem.
All the Eastern Michigan recruit did was pull out her 7-iron and hit a perfectly-placed shot that rolled up near the front corner of the green and circled just 10 feet from the hole.
Marquardt made the putt for birdie and then watched Scaccia narrowly miss her birdie putt, giving the Stevenson senior the individual championship while Prospect won the team title with a 305.
“Nikki made a fantastic third shot from under a tree,” said Prospect coach Jim Hamann. “Hats off to her. That was a nice shot and nice putt on a playoff hole.”
“I knew I had to put a little draw on it,” Marquardt said. “And I was hoping it would release up, and it did. That shot and then making the putt was a great way to finish.”
Both seniors finished their 18 holes with 73s to lead their teams.
Scaccia’s round led six Knights who made it into the top 10 as Prospect bested runner-up Maine South (349) and Stevenson (376).
“She really hit a nice shot,” said Scaccia of Marquardt’s 7-iron. “It was tough to beat that. She played well all day.
“We were actually laughing about playing each other in the playoff because we’d also played against each other a few times in the summer. She’s so nice and I love playing with her.”
Stevenson coach Brent Mork has loved seeing the start Marquardt has gotten off to this season. This was the third time she’s earned medalist honors this week.
“Ally’s a good player and a joy to play with,” Marquardt said. “I’ve been playing well, so rounds like this one should happen for me. I’ve be putting it all together.”
Prospect coach Jim Hamann liked the way his top six Knights put it together as each placed in the top ten.
Emma Menich and Kiley Walsh shot 77s to finish third and fourth. Teammates Bridget Brassil (78), Isabella Flack (84), Kacie O’Donnell (84) were fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
Prospect also had a ‘B’ team which was led by junior Emma Dazzo’s 88, good for 11th place.
“I was really proud that all six girls on our first team were in the top 10,” Hamann said “Any time we get four girls in the 70s, we are going to be pleased.
“I’m very excited about what we did in practice this week. The effort was fantastic. I was very satisfied with Bridget equaling her personal best (which she set on Tuesday) and Emma Dazzo should be really proud of herself breaking 90 for the first time.”
Stevenson sophomore Alexia Fidman shot an 87 to take 10th place.
“That was the first time she broke 90,” Mork said. “And we were without our No. 3 golfer (junior Stephanie Namkoong) who had a family commitment out of town.
“So we can improve our score. It’s early in the season.”
Conant was led by Carly Bryeans’ score of 88.
“Carly played solid,” said Conant coach Megan Hebert. “I was happy with how our girls battled back. They didn’t have great starts but they didn’t give up.”
Prospect won the tournament for the first time since 2007.
“It’s great to win our own tournament,” said Hamann, whose team has now shot rounds of 302, 291 (school record) and 305 in its three meets this season.
Hersey Invite: Hersey fired a school-record 358 to defeat Vernon Hills (364) and Glenbrook South (364) at Arlington Lakes Golf Club in Arlington Heights.
Jessica Yuen (68) of Neuqua Valley earned medalist honors while Hersey’s Lindsay Perkins (84) was fourth and Alysia Zaucha (88) 10th.