Girls golf: Naperville North earns trip downstate

The playoff for medalist honors at Springbrook on Tuesday afternoon mirrored the team standings of the Class 2A Waubonsie Valley girls golf sectional.

But neither Naperville North's Lauren Nay and Mara Flaherty nor Brianne Boland of team champion Lincoln-Way Central could match the seasoned experience of Hinsdale Central senior Roshannah Gaur in the playoff.

"I have played in a lot of high-pressure situations," said the Brown University-bound Gaur after winning with a par on the first playoff hole.

But Nay and Flaherty also will head back to Hickory Point, just north of Decatur, this weekend for the state tournament after each shot a 2-over-par 74.

Naperville North as a team advanced for the 22nd time in school history with its runner-up 326 performance.

Nay - who had the only under-par nine-hole round of the tournament with a 35 on her opening nine - had a golden opportunity to win outright. But the Huskies' senior suffered a double-bogey 6 on the final hole in regulation.

"I had a chip shot and shanked it," Nay said. "I had a 72 at regionals and knew conditions were going to be harder today."

The back nine at the par-72 Naperville layout is generally considered appreciably more difficult than its front nine.

But it fazed Flaherty little.

"I actually played better on the back nine," said Flaherty, who was at level-par 36 on that side to join the playoff. "I made more putts on the back nine and hit more greens."

Lincoln-Way Central (323) was 3 shot better than the Huskies for its first sectional team title; Hinsdale Central punched a ninth consecutive state berth with a third-place finish, 3 back of the Huskies.

Waubonsie Valley had to settle for a fifth-place 347, but Arushi Singh and Kerrigan Boose advanced as individuals with their respective scores of 75 and 82.

Emma Lim is state bound after leading sixth-place Naperville Central (356) with an 81. Eighth-place Neuqua Valley (370) had its season come to a close.

Singh was at par on her opening nine. She became the second player in Waubonsie Valley history to become a four-time state qualifier with a 3-over 75.

"Going down with Kerrigan is going to be so special," said the Indiana-bound Singh, who is an at-large qualifier for a third consecutive year after playing with the Warriors' last team qualifier as a freshman. "I definitely want to win (state) - go big or go home. I think I'm strong enough to do that."

Boose was also a freshman starter for Waubonsie Valley three years ago.

"I didn't make it the last two years," Boose said. "My biggest goal was to make it with Arushi."

The Redhawks' Lim, a sophomore, will make her first state appearance.

"I just wanted to play how I normally play," Lim said. "I didn't want to think about a score too much."