Good day for Meadows girls, boys golfers
There are many ways to measure success and meet goals in high school athletics.
Placing well in conference and going to state are great but one thing all golfers want to see is improvement in their game -- especially in the short nine-week season.
And dropping strokes seemed to be the theme Wednesday at Palatine Hills where Palatine hosted Rolling Meadows co-op and Wheeling in a Mid-Suburban League triangular.
In terms of team performance, the Mustangs' consistency was rewarded with a score of 190 and wins over the Pirates (203) and Wildcats (223).
"Although our team has gotten off to a rocky start, I think we're really going to come around and pull it together," said Meadows' Megan Baumgartner, who shot a 48. "I definitely think we're going to get our act together and have a really good (rest of the) season. I'm confident in our team."
Melissa Greenwood (45) led the Mustangs and agreed with her teammate.
"We all shot better today than we have so far this season," Greenwood said. "We're going to do better as the season goes on. Hopefully get a few more wins.
"It was nice to get a double win. It was good for our confidence and good for our team overall."
Mia Kaim (who goes to Elk Grove) shot a 47 for the Mustangs. Amanda Coleman scored with her 50.
Palatine's Amy Vojta earned medalist honors with her season-best round of 43. Yet she still feels there's a few more strokes to lose via her putter.
"I did OK," Vojta said. "My regular shots were good but my putting got me. I'm pretty happy with what I got. My teammates did pretty good today."
Shannon Eliasek (48), Kelli Burko (55) and Amanda Heath (57) all scored for the Pirates.
"We've definitely improved on our scores," said Palatine coach Bill Ludwigsen. "We're looking for improvement. That's all I can ask from the girls -- that and to be competitive. Obviously, we did that today."
Ashley Lepcin led Wheeling with her 51. Christine Barrera (54), Kim Star (56) and Laura McInally (62) all contributed to the Wildcats performance.
"I thought we did OK," said Wheeling coach Peggy Ellsworth. "I was hoping we'd do a little better, I saw a lot of good shots. We've improved from our start for sure, but there's still more room."
• A couple personal bests led to Conant's 180-201 MSL crossover win against Hersey.
The outcome reverses the Huskies' narrow edge over the Cougars at the season-opening Early Bird tournament -- at the same course.
One thing did remain the same, though. Conant's Kris Yoo ate up the course.
On Wednesday, Yoo shot a 2-under-par 33 at Fox Run Links for a personal best. Teammate Heather Nyc also bested herself with a 42. Kristen Gierman shot a 45 to lead the Huskies.
Boys golf
Rolling Meadows junior Dan Alsup was a bit disappointed last week when the Mustangs faced rivals Barrington and Hersey in a Mid-Suburban League boys golf triangular.
The meet was a matchup of last year's top three MSL teams. Unfortunately for Alsup, he had a touch of flu, playing Makray Memorial Golf Course at less than his best.
"It was his first match of the season," said Meadows coach Todd Schaap. "We were looking for him to recharge our team. He was sick as a dog, but he still told me, 'coach, I want to play.'"
Alsup was feeling much better Wednesday afternoon, and it showed in his performance as the junior took honors by shooting a 36 as Meadows (152) defeated Wheeling (157) and Palatine (159) at Arlington Lakes Golf Club.
Alsup's 2-over par at Arlington's short but exacting front-9 included a birdie at the par-3 fifth.
"I felt good today -- I felt fresh," said Alsup.
"He came back strong," added Schaap, who earlier in the year said Alsup had the talent to be one of the state's top golfers.
"He's got ice water in his veins," said Schaap. "He's got the ability to shake off bad shots, and not react to good shots."
Wheeling's Randy Glover was just 1 stroke behind. The junior carded a 37 at the 2,661-yard layout.
"This is a shorter course," Glover said, "but it's tight, and you hit irons off the tee. You usually wind up not using your woods at all."
"But as you can see," said Glover, pointing to the ninth hole, "the greens are heavily guarded. There are traps all over the place."
"This is a tight course," agreed Palatine's Josh Cho, who was best for Palatine with 38. "I stopped using my driver after two holes."
Cho has been playing very well since the 18-hole Inverness Invitational on Sept. 4. The junior shot 79 at Inverness, just missing a medal.
Ryan Ferris finished with 39 for the Pirates and teammate Derek Theilsen shot 40.
Kevin Taylor carded a 38 for Wheeling. Steve Benko (37), Joe Ignolia (39) and Chris Olson (40) completed the winning scoring for the host Mustangs.
"We lost a couple of good players (grads Ryan Reents and Tom Behof) from last year's (MSL championship) team," said Benko, "but we've got a good mindset this year. We've got some guys who can get the job done."
-- Bill Esbrook