Girls golf: Sulkar repeats as Barrington asserts itself
Reena Sulkar never spoke about defending her Mid-Suburban League girls golf title.
She just let her clubs do the talking.
For the second straight year, the ever-so-steady Barrington junior posted the best score at the annual MSL meet and this time it helped the Fillies secure their first MSL crown since 2007.
Despite the adverse weather, Sulkar shot a 1-over par 71 at Fox Run Golf Course in Elk Grove.
Sulkar's nearly flawless round helped lift the Fillies to a score of 320 as they easily topped their next closest pursuer Fremd (341). Prospect, which came inot the meet as the seven-time defending champion, was third (343) and this year's newly-crowned MSL East champion Buffalo Grove was fourth (346).
The Bison featured the meet's individual runner-up Emily Carnes, a senior who was just 1 stroke behind Sulkar with a career-best 72, including a sizzling 32 on the front nine.
Sulkar's winning round included a birdie, 2 bogeys and 15 pars.
"l wasn't talking or thinking about last year's (title)," said Sulkar, one of the few golfers to repeat an MSL girls golf crown. "It was definitely tough on the front nine with the off-and-on rain and a lot of changing wind. You basically had to judge distance and direction."
"With these conditions, the rain, the two- to three-club conditions, that score (71) is crazy good," said Barrington coach Jodi Schoeck, who won her 12th MSL crown in 29 years of directing the program. "What can I say about a two-time conference champion? She is relentless on the course. She is simply amazing to watch. She stays focused and has tunnel vision on her target."
The Fillies were on target most of the round, as freshman Nicole Ciskowski came home with the third-best score of the day (77), followed by teammates Shivani Majmudar (12th with an 85) and Allie Quinn (87), who was 13th.
"We had been the division champs for a few years," Schoeck said. "But with the great teams and individual players in this conference, being able to bring the conference trophy back to Barrington is a sweet thing."
Ciskowski, only a freshman, becomes the second member of her family to land in the top four of the MSL meet. Her sister Heather was fourth in 2011, shooting a 76.
"I used to watch her play and wanted to do something like her when I got older," Nicole said after shooting an impressive round included a birdie on the front nine. "I'm always nervous because I take every meet as seriously as I can and try the best I can."
Carnes' best career round earned her the runner-up position after placing third last fall.
"That was my goal, to beat last year," said Carnes, also as an all-area catcher for the Bison softball team.
Carnes had never parred nine holes before going 3-under (with 3 birdies) on Tuesday.
"I just had a good, sold round," she said. "It's so awesome that we were able to win the division. I think the last time we did that half of our players weren't even born yet (the Bison won MSL titles in 1989 and 1999)."
Fremd's second-place finish was led by fourth- and fifth-place finishers JaeHee Hur (78) and Haezi Jung (80), both seniors.
"I didn't think I played that great," said Hur, who had a birdie on the front and back nine. "The greens were kind of hard to get used to."
Annie Gao (tied for 13th with an 87) and Kristina Ferrari (89) completed the Vikes' score card.
"The girls obviously faced challenging conditions," said Vikings coach Christine Vlaming. "They had to play in sideways rain but they kept fighting and I am proud of their effort."
Prospect's third-place effort was led by Sabrina Accardi, who tied for eighth with an 83, followed by Emily Fleming and Mary Schafer, who tied for tenth with 84s. The Knights' fourth score came from Kate Ponzi (92).
"I feel like we are headed in the right direction," said Prospect coach Jim Hamann. "We need a real short memory of the conference season. We are really looking forward to the regional meet.
"Our performance within 50 yards of the green still needs a lot of improvement and I will take responsibility for that."
BG took fourth place thanks to Carnes and her teammates Haeri Lee (seventh with an 82), Grace Gran (93) and Katie Jarosz (99).
"Considering the elements and the conditions on the course at the time, that was an unbelievable number by Emily," said BG coach Matt Myers "She is just a smart kid and was dialed in. She is cool, calm and collected on the golf course and it showed (Monday)."
The leader board showed seven other girls earning medals for top-20 finishes.
The list included Conant's Megan Nagorzanski (tied for fifth with 80), Schaumburg's Trinity Corwin (tied for eighth with 83), Hersey's Maggie Anderson (tied for 15th with 88), Palatine's Jenny Myslinski (tied for 15th with 88), Schaumburg's Jennifer Capello (tied for 17th with 89), Conant's Lina Jang (tied for 17th with 89) and Conant's Tida Bowers (20th with a 90).