Full speed ahead for Barrington girls golf
It doesn't really matter how you look at Barrington's girls golf team. It's just hard to imagine the Fillies will have anything less than a great season.
The reason is simple: experience.
Brittany Keiter and McCall Barsamian are in their fourth years on varsity and have been to state three times.
Amanda Schmitz and Marina Karamanis are also returning varsity and state veterans that are part of Barrington's nine-senior squad. The Fillies also have sophomore standout Taylor Quinn.
"We are a team that is very balanced," said Barrington coach Jodi Schoeck. "We have a group effort going. For girls golf, that's what you need. You can have one super high scorer keeping it together."
In fact, the Fillies have swept conference three years running and finished seventh at state last year. The team lost just one from that effort.
"Our big loss this year was the graduation of Nicole Simon," Schoeck said of the former Fillie now playing for Butler University. "Her leadership on and off the golf course will be missed by the entire team."
"We did lose (Nicole Simon) from last year," Keiter said. "But I think this year we'll be just as good, if not, better. We're just going to see who the No. 6 (golfer) is going to be and we'll take it from there."
The team has already broken a school record this season with a score of 317 at the Barrington Invitational on Thursday.
With all the available talent, the Fillies have their sights set on state.
"It's different this year because there're so many seniors," Keiter said. "Now that I'm a senior, I've been down to state and I've seen how hard it is. I guess I just want to perform better than I did last year."
"The top five have all been to state together," Schoeck said. "Obviously, McCall and Brittany are leading that charge -- they've been to state three years in a row."
The team has something else in its favor this year: friendship.
"There are nine of us seniors. We're pretty loaded," Barsamian said. "Everyone is really tight. We all love each other. There's no drama or anything. We're really close. I think everything is going to be awesome this year.
"Everyone is there supporting each other -- even if we have bad rounds. Everyone is there (for each other) and it makes up here and there. It all works out."
This season Barrington has it all: experience, numbers, maturity and a real sense of the team.
"They know this is the year to take advantage of having everybody here and all the experience that those top five have," Schoeck said. "Because they have played in (so many tournaments together) with some of the top kids in the state, they know what it takes to compete out there."
The Fillies also have the right amount of spirit and enthusiasm.
"We're excited," Barsamian said. "We're going to have a lot of fun."