Sulkar, Barrington at their peak with regional triumphs

Every sports team wants to be peaking toward the end of the season.

Barrington's girls golf team truly took that philosophy to heart on Wednesday in its own Class AA regional at Bonnie Dundee Golf Course in Carpentersville.

The Fillies' top three golfers all recorded personal bests - including a startling 6-under-par 65 by junior Reena Sulkar - and Barrington fired a school-record 296 to win its 16th regional crown in 29 seasons under Hall of Fame coach Jodi Schoeck.

The Mid-Suburban League champs from the West division finished ahead of runner-up Buffalo Grove (308), the MSL East champs who also produced a school record for 18 holes. Deerfield was third with a score of 328.

Sulkar's outstanding round, one stroke better than her previous best of 66 set at Bonnie Dundee on the first day of this season, earned her medalist honors over Lake Forest's Emily Young (70), Buffalo Grove's Jasmine Yi (72), Deerfield's Kelly Storti (72) and Buffalo Grove's Emily Carnes (73).

"Sixty five is just as hot as you can be," said Schoeck of the two-time defending MSL champ Sulkar, who had two eagles (on par 5s with 12- and 8-foot putts) and two bogeys. She is playing every minute out there. She is hitting tight shots to the pin. Her approach shots are right on line. This course sets up well for her because she is used to it. And Sportsman's (the Northbrook country club hosting the Glenbrook North sectional on Monday) should set up for her, too, because she is a long hitter off the tee."

Sulkar said everything was clicking, particularly her putting on Wednesday.

"I wasn't thinking about the 66 I shot here but I definitely thought I could do it again," Sulkar said. "I know how to play this course by now because I've played it so much."

Barrington's next three scores came from junior Allie Quinn (75), freshman Nicole Ciskowski (76) and junior Shivani Majmudar (80). Freshman Ishani Majmudar came back from three double bogeys to start her round with a pair of birdies on the next two holes and another birdie on the back nine to card an 82.

Quinn said her personal best score in a regional was "perfect timing."

"I was just very consistent," said the junior who made birdie putts on holes No. 4, 10 and 13. "And I had a lot up and downs, which is good for me. I had some shots roll past the green and I was able to come back and save par."

Ciskowski saved her personal best for the regional, carding a pair of birdies en route to her 76. "But it was a tough day," the freshman said. "I had a hard time executing chips, but that happens."

It just so happened that BG's top scorer also recorded a career-best, and in dramatic fashion.

Sophomore Jasmine Yi, who had to withdraw from the conference meet last week due to a sprained elbow on the eighth hole, came back and fired an 82 that included an eagle in which she used her pitching wedge from 40 yards out on the par 5 No. 15.

"She is a talented kid," said BG coach Matt Myers. "She has her head on right, is focused and did great. She really wanted it today."

"I wanted to do it for my team," Yi said. "I had a lot of acupuncture (for the elbow) every night."

Yi was followed by her teammate Carnes, whose round of 73 included a pair of birdies.

Completing the Bison's school record score were Haeri Lee (74) and Grace Gran (89).

"We knew we could do it at the beginning of the season," Carnes said of the school record. "We had a lot of potential. We were flirting with it all season so we wanted to go after it. I'm glad we did it here."

Myers said the former Bison record was 318 in the 2013 regional.

"I'm really proud of the girls," he said. "They made the school record a goal for today. They've been chasing that record all season and finally achieved the goal today.

"We had a chance to win the regional. But the most important thing is that we are moving on to next week and have a chance at state depending how the sectional plays out."

Also headed to the Glenbrook North sectional as individual medalists are Stevenson's Alexia Fidman (78), Palatine's Maddie Jones (81), Stevenson's Myra Peterson (83), Vernon Hills' Faith Jung (84), Palatine's Jenny Myslinski (85) and Stevenson's Olivia Stomberg (86).

Lake Zurich sophomore Kelsey Kee (86) just missed qualifying, falling in a playoff with Stomberg and Lake Forest's Lena Benjakul.

Kee deserved a most improved player award. Only last week, she shot a 97 to break 100 for the first time.

An 8-foot putt on her final hole gave Kee her 86.

"She just dedicated herself to golf," said Lake Zurich coach Mel Fox. "She is always practicing."

Palatine's Jones (a senior) and Myslinski (a sophomore) give Pirates coach Bill LePage his first duo to head to a sectional since he took over the program six years ago.

"Maddie is peaking at the right time, " LePage said. "She played well at Bittersweet (Gurnee) in the rain last week. She is playing smart golf. The key is that her second shots are putting her in position for pars. Jenny has been solid all season. This wasn't her best round of the season bit it was good enough to qualify. I am really happy for both girls and Palatine High School."

Stevenson's Fidman, who began the season by shooting a 75 on the same course in the Barrington Invite, is headed to the sectional for the third straight year.

"I had a positive attitude," said Fidman, whose round included a birdie. "I was motivated to do well." First-year Stevenson coach Emma Degen was a four-year golfer for Fox at Lake Zurich. Coincidentally, Degen's third player to qualify, Stomberg, edged Fox's Kee in the playoff.

"I'm very happy," Degen said of sending three players to the sectional. "It would have been awesome to go as a team (Stevenson missed by one spot, finishing fourth with a score of 336) but to get three out of six to qualify is pretty awesome."

And no one was more awesome than Sulkar on Thursday.

She became the ninth individual regional champ in Schoeck's career.

"I know it's a cliché, but this is the time of the year you want to be peaking," Schoeck said. "It's a tough road at the sectional. Our team work and team chemistry has been there all season. We need it to continue for another week and a half."