Scouting DuPage County girls golf
Top teams: Hinsdale Central, Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville North, Downers Grove North, Benet, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Academy, Lake Park, York, Neuqua Valley.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Sara Gagliano, jr.; Benet: Isabella Abdullah, sr., Lauren Beaudreau, so., Abby Bitto, sr.; Downers Grove North: Annie Bedalov, sr., Rachel Leucuta, sr., Olivia Weaver, jr.; Downers Grove South: Teagan Custer, jr., Lindsey Tom, jr.; Fenton: Jamie Minnard, jr.; Glenbard East: Samantha Katsikas, sr., Dana Plotke, sr., Emma Schendel, sr.; Glenbard North: Talia Albiter, jr., Alexandra Baertschi, sr., Lisa Gentry, jr.; Glenbard South: Elana Kozak, sr.; Glenbard West: Allison Barry, sr., Anne Bertane, jr., Samantha Moody, jr.; Hinsdale Central: Roshannah Gaur, jr., Maria Harrast, sr., Jessica Lee, sr., Selina Zeng, sr.; Hinsdale South: Alissa Banks, so., Sonali Patel, sr.; IC Catholic Prep: Maddie Hurt, sr.; Lake Park: Nicole Hansen, jr., Brooke Maloney, sr., Kim Miller, sr., Rachel O'Neill, sr.; Lisle: Katelyn Fonner, sr., Anna Palicka, sr.; Metea Valley: Sara Lagnanker, jr., Madison Neihardt, so., Anita Padman, jr.; Naperville Central: Annette Kim, fr., Renee Lau, sr., Emma Lim, fr., Neha Vinesh, fr.; Naperville North: AJ Barr, sr., Mara Flaherty, so., Emily Harrington, sr., Lauren Nay, jr.; Neuqua Valley: Lauren DiGarzia, so., Kayle Lewkowski, sr., Karsen O'Keefe, so., Julia Rainer, sr.; St. Francis: Thaia Garcia, jr., Elizabeth Grivetti, fr., Hailey Strickland, jr.; Waubonsie Valley: Kerrigan Boose, jr., Arushi Singh, jr., Emily Skowronski, fr.; West Chicago: Jenna Castelluccio, jr., Meghan Koester, jr., Julia Wasserstrom, so.; Wheaton Academy: Meredith Bult, sr., Margaret Harmon, so., Chrislyn Herring, sr., Lauren Isenhart, sr.; Grace Vickers, jr.; Wheaton North: Sasha Danielson, so., Taylor Stapinski, jr., Maddie Stevens, jr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Annalee Dannegger, sr., Priya Desai, sr., Emma Field, sr., Sarah Hauenstein, jr., Hadley Moritz, jr.; Willowbrook: Olivia Hartshorn, sr., Maggie Karcz, sr., Sophia Parrill, jr., Jocie Trausch, sr.; York: Tarryn Becker, sr., Jenny Diamond, sr., Christine Millins, sr.
Scouting report: The two titans met on the second day of the girls golf season Tuesday in Hinsdale. But Wheaton Warrenville South was decisively defeated by two-time defending Class AA champion Hinsdale Central. "We didn't play very well," WW South coach Art Tang said of the Tigers' 13-shot loss in the schools' nonconference dual match at Ruth Lake. "You can't win them all." The perennial powers boast nine combined starters returning after each school captured a trophy last fall north of Decatur. The Tigers earned their first state hardware in program history with their third-place finish. Hinsdale Central and WW South will undoubtedly be on the radar of all local coaches as the season begins its second week of play on Monday.
Gaur, Harrast, Minnesota-bound Lee and Penn recruit Zeng are seeking their third team titles this fall for Hinsdale Central. "We don't talk about winning state titles," Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre said. "We just try and play as well as we can. The biggest challenge is to play to our full capability. The work ethic is there." Dannegger, Desai, Field, Hauenstein and Moritz are looking for a third consecutive DuPage Valley Conference championship this fall. WW South has qualified for the state tournament eight times since 2001.
"I'm not going to say we're going to trophy again this year," Tang said. "There are so many other good teams out there. I don't think we have the firepower to match (Hinsdale Central. Having five returning starters back) will definitely make coaching a lot easier." Jane Thompson is the longtime coach at Naperville Central. "Hinsdale Central is in a class by themselves," Thompson said. "But there are a lot of really good teams in the area. Naperville North is really deep, and Benet has a tremendous 1-2-3 (Beaudreau, Abdullah and Bitto)."
The Huskies return four members of their sectional-qualifying team; Naperville North began the season on Monday with a blistering 307 to capture the Homewood-Flossmoor Invite. The four returning varsity members were all in the 70s for the Huskies, led by Nay, who finished with a 73. "We broke the school record for an 18-hole tournament," Naperville North coach Greta Williams said. "(WW South is) going to be a favorite (in the DuPage Valley Conference). I think we can be competitive with them." Nay and Flaherty are top-rated players for Naperville North.
Benet, behind medalist Beaudreau, edged the Huskies the next day at the Naperville city tournament. Duplicating her feat from a year ago, Beaudreau, fourth in state as a freshman, opened the season with back-to-back individual wins at Homewood and the Naperville Country Club. Beaudreau made her presence felt on the state stage by downing former two-time reigning state champion Jessica Yuen (Missouri) of Neuqua Valley to win the sectional in a playoff at Naperbrook.
"My goal is to win state this year," the Benet soomore said. "I came close last year. I am looking to continue my solid play so that I have momentum going into the state tournament." Abdullah returns to the fold after skipping her junior season for Benet. Beaudreau enters the season with an impressive resume after qualifying for the national amateur championship.
"(Beaudreau) is an incredible competitor," Benet coach Mike Bremner said. "She has played some big matches outside of high school." "(Beaudreau) is so confident for being so young," Williams said. "She has a really good mental game for her age."
The Naperville North and Benet players routinely see each other on the summer circuit as well. "My team really likes playing with those girls," Williams said. The Redwings' Bitto was an at-large qualifier for the state tournament last year. Barr also made the individual cut for Naperville North out of the Neuqua Valley sectional last October.
Waubonsie Valley boasts two state veterans in Singh and Boose. Singh narrowly missed a top-20 position last fall at the state finals. The junior was a shot behind Beaudreau at Naperville on Tuesday. "We have seven freshmen on the team," Singh said. "My freshman year (Illinois soomore Bing Singsumalee) kind of carried the team. I kind of want to do that this year. I really worked hard this summer to get myself better scores."
Lake Park is another DuPage Valley Conference school to watch out for behind the athletic Hansen. The Lancers' junior is looking for redemption after failing to follow-up her state appearance from two years ago. But Hansen had a monster summer. "I was invited to a special tournament at Rich Harvest Farms (in Sugar Grove, site of the 2009 Solheim Cup)," Hansen said. "My primary aim is to play better and get to Division I. I am looking to shoot in the 70s on a regular basis. I am looking to go downstate again and secure a scholarship."
Thompson will have three freshmen at the top of the Naperville Central lineup. "I had eight freshmen try out," Thompson said. "I am really young, but they all have some skills." John Keller, the only coach in Neuqua Valley program history, has senior Rainer to headline multiple underclass starters. "I think (WW South, Benet and Naperville North) are the three powerhouse teams," Keller said. The three Indian Prairie high schools all advanced out of the Waubonsie Valley regional last year.
In the single-division West Suburban Conference, there are several notable programs to complement Hinsdale Central. "It's really nice just to finish second," York coach Barb Tilden said. "Hinsdale has such really driven girls." Downers North is state viable once again with three returning members of its first downstate contingent. "We have some younger girls who are going to push the veterans," said Downers North coach Jackie McCormick, whose team finished 10th last season. "Rachel and Olivia have all shot phenomenal scores at everything we have done."
Glenbard West was especially hard hit by graduation. "We lost 10 seniors last year, so we're a pretty young group," Hilltoppers coach John Karpowicz said.
Seniors Hurt and Minnard of IC Catholic Prep and Fenton, respectively, will play on the schools' boys team before turning their attention to the girls state series as individuals. Hurt became only the second individual female state champion in IC Catholic Prep history last year when she survived a two-hole sudden-death playoff to capture the Class A title. "The expectations are to put (Hurt) in position to repeat," IC Catholic Prep coach Don Sujack said. "I don't envision her having a mediocre (state) tournament. I am quite positive she will put herself in position to make another run at a state title." Rochester senior Morgan Savage birdied her final hole in regulation to force the playoff. "(Rochester) almost jarred her second shot (on the first par-4 playoff hole)," Sujack said. "(Hurt) had to make a 14-footer (to extend the playoff)." Hurt then had another birdie to make history for IC Catholic Prep female athletics. "She is the first state champion of the new millennial," Sujack joked.
Lisle won the Class A Nazareth Academy sectional and ultimately finished 11th at the state tournament. But Lisle coach Scott Waibel has an entirely different team dynamic this fall. "We only have four players in the program," Waibel said. Fonner and Palicka do return from the Lions' state unit.
Key dates: Aug. 20, Joliet Central Invite; Sept. 10, Waukegan Invite; Sept. 17, Providence Catholic Celtic Swing; Sept. 17, Rockford Guilford Invite; Sept. 24, Naperville North Invite; Week of Sept. 26, conference tournaments; Sept. 28, Waubonsie Valley Breast Cancer Awareness; Oct. 1, Rosary Invite.
- Kevin McGavin