Girls golf: Libertyville fastbreaks to downstate appearance

In the winter, Greg Pedersen is Libertyville's varsity girls basketball coach.

But in the fall, he coaches the Wildcats' girls golf team which offered up a slam dunk on Monday in the Class AA Glenbrook North sectional at Sportsman's Country Club in Northbrook.

The Wildcats netted a season-best 317 to tie New Trier for second place behind champion Loyola, which fired a 304. All three teams earned a berth in this weekend's state finals at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur.

Libertyville will make its first appearance in the state finals since 2004, when Jim Seward was the coach.

Mid-Suburban East champ Buffalo Grove, which made a serious bid for a state berth, finished at 327 followed by Glenbrook North (328) and MSL champ Barrington (332).

"This has been our goal forever," said Libertyville junior Simone Mikaelian, whose 74 tied for sixth place in the medalist standings. "This is insane. It doesn't feel real."

Mikaelian, who will play on Pedersen's basketball team this season, will be making her third appearance in Decatur. "I'm so excited not going alone this year and having my teammates," she said.

Among those joining her will be junior Megan Sturonas (79), senior Katherine Stegman (81) and senior Maggie Piazzi (83), who helped lead the Wildcats toward their 317.

New Trier freshman Penelope Tir earned medalist honors by shooting a 1-over par 71, followed by Loyola senior Blake Yaccino (72).

Also cracking the top ten were Buffalo Grove sophomore Haeri Lee (tie for sixth with a 74), Mikaelian (tie for sixth), Barrington junior Reena Sulkar (tie for seventh with a 75) and Fremd senior Jaehee Hur (tied for seventh with a 75).

Other area advancing individuals were Grant sophomore KiLynn Gold (77) and Buffalo senior Emily Carnes (79).

Tying for the tenth spot were Stevenson's Alexia Fidman, Glenbrook South's Arina Kim and Carmel's Alexa Amato, who all shot 80s.

The three took the course again for a playoff and as dark settled in Kim and Amata were still tied after three holes. They will continue to compete for the final individual spot in Decatur today at 4:30 p.m. at Sportsman's.

One of the afternoon's magical moments came when BG junior Katie Fontanetta used her 7-iron for a hole-in-one on the par 3, No 10 hole.

The ball landed about 15 feet from the hole and curled left to right into the cup.

"I thought it was a good shot but I was kind of nervous for a while that it might go into the water (before green)," Fontanetta said. "But then I saw it rolling on the green and curving toward the hole. I heard someone (Palatine athletic director Jerry Dobbs) say 'go in the hole!' and it did. I was just in shock.

"It was my favorite club (7-iron) because I always hit that club straight."

Katie's father Augie (District 211 Director of Athletics) and mother Chris both saw Katie's dramatic shot.

"That was great," said BG coach Matt Myers. "The girls played great. I could not be more proud of this group. It was a really a great day of golf. We just came up a few strokes short but for a while I thought we might pull it out. The girls are proud of the way they played."

Lee's 74 included a birdie on her first hole. "That definitely gave me confidence for the rest of the round (2 birdies total)." said Lee, who missed only one fairway. "My drives and putting really helped me out."

Fremd's Hur had 3 birdies en route to her 75 which allowed her a second straight state finals berth.

"I was kind of struggling on the front nine," said Hur, who missed her personal best by 1 stroke (74 at Palatine Hills). "I was just too nervous the first eight holes. Hopefully, my experience from playing at state last year will help me this weekend."

MSL and sectional champ Reena Sulkar's 75 included a pair of birdies as she was one of several golfers who finished her round in high winds that altered shots.

"The back nine was definitely tougher," she said. "But I just feel bad about my team. We had such a strong season (as undefeated MSL champs). We we still have positive prospects for the future with a lot of players returning next year. Things just didn't go our way this day.

"The wind wasn't so bad early but once we made the turn, at about the 11th hole, it really picked up. I hit some drives perfectly straight and they just carried into bunkers. So it was frustrating at the end."

The Fillies, who counted an 85 and two 86s. ended their season as MSL champs and set a school record 296 when it won its 16th regional in 29 season under coach Jodi Schoeck.

"It was a tough day for the Fillies but no one gave up," Schoeck said. "They kept fighting throughout. We want to make sure the girls don't let this round define the season that was record-setting. We have to take time to reflect on this today and then focus on what is going to happen in the future."

Mikaelian's immediate future will be in Decatur for the third straight time. Her team-best round of 74 was three strokes shy of her personal best of 71.

"I usually don't one-putt a lot but I made a few this round," she said. " And all my drives were on point."

Pedersen pointed to the Wildcats' devotion to the game as a reason they are able to celebrate their first trip to the state final in nine years.

"These are not country club girls," he said. "It's just hardworking girls who enjoy being around each other. They like working on their games and they are tough-nosed competitors who don't like losing."

Sturonas' 78 was her second-best score on the high school level.

"Megan played great," Pedersen said. "She is kind of like the team mom. She writes messages to teammates and she keeps everyone together."

Stegman produced the best round her career, firing a 37 on the back nine.

"She really came up big on the back nine," Pedersen said. "She's scrappy and plays real well getting up and down. Even with bad shots, she doesn't feel she is out of any hole."

The Wildcats' final score that counted was by Piazzi, a lefty who also handles the point for Pedersen's basketball team.

"That (83) was really good for Maggie," Pedersen said. "We said going in, we need two people in the 70s and two in the 80s. And Maggie stepped up in the 80s - and low 80s. So that helped us meet our goal.

"Winning a berth downstate was one of our goals. We wanted to win the conference, win the regional and qualify for state. The girls felt they could do that. But they really had to pull together.

"Everyone had to play well on the same day. We've done that a number of times this season, and they showed up again to do it today."