St. Charles N. wins title, but Batavia surprises field

Batavia senior Lauren Anderson really had no idea when she sat down at the scorer's table Wednesday what her round of 90 would mean to her team.

But when she found out she was all smiles, as was the entire Bulldogs' contingent.

For the first time since winning back-to-back regional titles in 2008 and 2009 and a runner-up regional finish in 2010, Batavia will play as a team in the sectional.

While St. Charles North, as expected, won the Class AA Burlington Central regional at Sycamore Golf Club with a 338, Batavia surprised the field when it finished second after Anderson carded a 90 to push the Bulldogs past St. Charles East for second place. Batavia's 358 nosed out the Saints for second place by one shot and shoved Geneva, with its 360, to fourth place and out of a team spot at next Monday's Conant sectional at Fox Run in Elk Grove.

"It's been a long road," said Anderson. "When I was a freshman everyone said our team had potential and we've all worked really hard and it's paying off. I'm glad I could pull it out. It means a lot to our team."

First-year Batavia coach Tim Kauffmann was elated with his team's advancement as well.

"Coming into it we knew it would be tough," he said. "We came out here for a couple practice rounds and they played well. We're happy to take second. I couldn't be prouder of the girls. It's a great group and they battled through the cold and the wind to come through."

In addition to Anderson's 80, the Bulldogs got an 81 from junior Rebecca Hasemann, a 92 from freshman Madison McCoy and a 95 from junior Emily Clark.

St. Charles North sophomore Gianna Furrie was the meet medalist with a sizzling 1-under par 70. Her classmate, Kate Lillie, was second with a 76.

"My putting was really good today," said Furrie, who was playing the Sycamore layout for the first time. "My dad and I looked at the course online and I just tried to take it one shot at a time. I just tried to get an idea of each hole and not speed through it."

Lillie shot a 41 on the front but recovered with a 35 on the back.

"The front was a little rough," she said. "I wasn't quite in the groove and I wasn't hitting the ball like I have been. But once I got to No. 10 I just started over and knew I could get a good score. I made my putts, I drove it further and everything fell into place on the back."

Seniors Gina Spinazza (92) and Alina O'Donnell (100) also scored for the North Stars, who won their first regional title since 2007.

"I have a really good group of kids with a lot of playing experience even though they're young," said first-year SCN coach Irish Whalen. "They do what they have to do. They're competitive kids and they want to do their best. I feel very lucky to have kids like that."

St. Charles East used three sub-90 rounds from underclassmen to snag the third and final sectional spot. Sophomores Rose Bundy and Kacie Gaffney each had 88s, with freshman Nicole Jordan shooting an 89. Sophomore Reagan Stanton rounded out the Saints' card with a 102.

"It went pretty good," said Jordan. "I had one bad hole, the first, but after that everything was good and consistent. My goal was to break 90. I've done it before but for this tournament I really wanted to do well."

Even though Geneva won't compete as a team at Fox Run, all four of the scoring Vikings will compete as individuals. Senior Nicole Hassels had an 83, senior Mary Clare Novak 84, junior Natalie Saeger 96 and junior Reilly Krohe 97, which was the cut.

"It was good," said Hassels, who missed the cut by one stroke at Sycamore her freshman year. "I didn't have a lot of pars but I didn't have any 7s or penalty strokes either. Very consistent. It was nice to come back out here and do better."

Burlington Central junior Josie Kurosky also advanced with an 84, but she was disappointed in her round on her home course. After shooting 38 on the back nine to start, she had 46 on the front.

"It could have been a lot better," she said. "My putting went downhill and my approach shots were not good either. This is my home course and I was hoping to do better. The wind didn't really bother me, it was just a bad nine."

South Elgin sophomore Brynn Warrick also made the cut, shooting a 94.

"Some holes were really good and some not so good," Warrick said. "It was all about adjusting. My putting was really good today and my drives were really good."

Also advancing as individuals were Kaneland seniors Tori Guyton (89) and Julia VanGemert (94) and West Chicago freshman Kaitlyn Koch (97).