Wheaton N. finally top Tigers

The Wheaton North girls golfers' toothy grins spoke volumes.

It was a historic day for the Falcons on Tuesday afternoon at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton.

In the 11-year history of the program, the Falcons had tasted nothing but defeat to their cross-town counterparts from Wheaton Warrenville South.

But it was a different story for Wheaton North on the wind-swept links of Arrowhead behind the one-two lead of Nicole Bronson and Allie Cerone.

Bronson had a steady diet of pars and averted any blowups, while Cerone had the shot of the day -- a pitch-in birdie from more than 100 feet on the par-3 sixth -- to anchor the Falcons with respective scores of 43 and 45.

Senior Jordan Heinlen carded a 51 from the fifth slot, and classmates Laura Dieter and Michelle Daly had matching 54s to give the Falcons their fourth and final score.

It proved to be 1 better than WW South, which had the medalist in junior all-state returnee Molly O'Connor.

With its 193-194 victory over two-time defending DuPage Valley Conference champion WW South, Wheaton North improved to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the league; the Tigers fell to 4-2, 1-1.

The collective glow emanating from the Falcons' faces in the aftermath of their upset victory was undoubtedly a combination of relief mixed with the realization of 12 months' worth of bragging rights.

"I'm just glad we all played together on one day," Bronson said. "We were able to succeed as a team."

"We've never beaten them," Hannah Freeman said.

"It's like the ultimate victory," Dieter added.

On an afternoon when every shot made a difference, it was the brilliant birdie by Cerone that proved to be the symbolic coronation for the Falcons.

"The sun was in my eyes, and I didn't even see it go in," Cerone said. "That never happens to me."

With the notable exception of a pair of double bogeys, O'Connor was level par over her other seven holes, using a birdie on the eighth as the linchpin of her low round of 40.

"On a day like today, the wind makes all your shots unpredictable," O'Connor said.

The Tigers' junior ace uncharacteristically took a driver off the ninth hole, a downhill par-4 with a pond guarding the right side.

"I played it more aggressive than usual," O'Connor said. "I really wanted to make birdie and break 40."

Lauren Davis, Lisa Thornquist and Lisa Virgilio were the Tigers' other counting scorers with respective rounds of 50, 51 and 53.

"I think they were trying a little too hard against their big rival," said WW South coach Art Tang.