DuPage golfers on the junior circuit
They are the best of friends, a collective bond forged by the rigors of competition and life on the junior golf circuit.
They are also three of the finest female players in the state.
Hannah Buck, GiGi DiGrazia and Molly O'Connor enter their junior seasons with little to prove, but much on the line.
Buck and DiGrazia, from Neuqua Valley and Driscoll, respectively, tied for seventh in the inaugural Class AA state golf tournament last fall in southern Illinois, while O'Connor was also in the top 16.
"Most of the best players in the state of Illinois -- the female ones -- all play together," said DiGrazia, who has made headlines for her trailblazing efforts as the only girl on the Highlanders boys squad. "You see everyone all the time (in the summer)."
"We pretty much see each other at every event," Buck added. "Without them I tend to get very nervous. They help me relax and have more fun."
"We're all very good friends," said O'Connor, the reigning DuPage Valley Conference champion for Wheaton Warrenville South. "On and off the golf course."
The spotlight will shine as brightly as ever for the talented trio, a threesome that combines dedication, never-ending practice sessions and a love for the game.
Red numbers have become commonplace in girls golf, and the growth of the game continues unabated for young female players.
For all three players the summer is not a time for relaxation but a showcase for their expanding talents.
"Overall, you're trying to better your game," DiGrazia said. "I was playing these (summer) tournaments while developing a new swing. I think all the work I have done over the summer has paid off."
Buck admittedly struggled in the early portion of the summer circuit, only to rebound in dramatic fashion over the middle portion of the season.
"I didn't play in as many tournaments this summer, but I played in some big ones," said Buck, whose finest showing was third place in the state junior amateur.
"I have been up and down."
While DiGrazia hones her talents against boys in the Suburban Catholic Conference, Hogan and Buck are primed to continue the progression of the sport in the DuPage Valley and Upstate Eight.
The Tigers blitzed their league rivals to defend their conference championship last fall, but heavy graduation losses place an additional burden on O'Connor.
"We lost six seniors from our team last year," O'Connor said. "Our main goal for this year is to develop as a team. I think for next year that we're going to be set."
Neuqua Valley was the dominant team not only in the Upstate Eight but also the area; however, district rival Waubonsie Valley and the two St. Charles schools have made dramatic inroads in recent years.
Buck has had individual runner-up finishes her first two years in the league, and the Wildcats' leader figures to have stern competition from defending champion Brooke Bettis of St. Charles North and Waubonsie Valley senior Tory Blumenshine.
"I would love to win conference," Buck said. "I have been really close the last two years."
DiGrazia casts a large presence wherever she plays.
"All the coaches know that she is going to take one of the eight spots (for individual at-large berths) to the state meet," said Naperville Central coach Jane Thompson.
O'Connor left a similar impression on first-year Rosary coach Todd Wilson.
"She comes over to the Addison Golf Dome, where I work, all the time," Wilson said. "She is always pounding balls. I wish we had a few like her (at Rosary)."
The three juniors all have Hinsdale Central senior
Alex Lederhausen in their sights as the season begins in earnest.
But the reigning Class AA state champion is immersed in a dispute with the IHSA.
Lederhausen, a native of Sweden, represented her country of birth at a prestigious British tournament after the season officially began.
"She was playing in a once-in-a-lifetime tournament," said Hinsdale Central coach Nancy Ahitow. "The IHSA has been weird. We asked for permission before she left. It was denied. They said the tournament wasn't sponsored by the USGA or LPGA."
Lederhausen, who teamed with her sister Rebecca to lead the Devils to state runner-ups last fall, is suspended.
"We're waiting for the ruling on Monday," Ahitow said. "We're hoping she is only going to have to sit out a couple of meets."
Waubonsie Valley is another team with serious state aspirations after falling short at the Neuqua Valley sectional last fall.
"When the girl from Mother McAuley came in with a 73, my heart sank," Blumenshine said of last season's sectional, where she qualified to state as an individual. "It is entirely different going down as a team than as an individual."