Klune, Smith advance in golf tourney
The North Shore trumped Prospect once again.
The Knights had won three tournament titles and were seeking their second trip to the girls state golf finals as a team in program history.
It was not meant to be.
Traditional powers Loyola Academy and New Trier denied the Knights at the Class AA St. Ignatius sectional at Cog Hill in Lemont on Tuesday afternoon.
"We had six scores in the 80s," said Prospect coach Jim Hamann. "We're the only school that did that. We deserve to be in the state tournament. I have a great group of kids."
The lone solace for the Knights was the play of Marietta Smith, who snared the eighth and final at-large berth to the state finals in Carbondale this weekend with an 81.
"We really wanted to go downstate," said junior Melanie Walsh, who had an 84, the Knights' second-lowest score. "It's unfortunate we have to be in the same sectional as New Trier and Loyola. Both teams played very well today and deserve to go downstate."
With three scores at 80 or better, Loyola had a 321 total, 11 strokes better than New Trier.
The Knights, with an 85 from Karly Grouwinkel and 87s by Michelle Lawless and Alexa Campanile, were five off the Trevians' pace at 337.
St. Viator junior Kaela Klune was in the final pairing with the Knights' Smith and Loyola sophomore Somy Kim.
The Lions' ace booked a return trip to southern Illinois by playing the final five holes in 2-under-par.
Klune was in danger of missing the individual cut, which ultimately came at 81, only to record back-to-back birdies on her inward nine for a state-clinching round of 78, tied by three others for third place overall.
"There was no way I was going to let it slip away," said Klune. "There were some tough pin placements, but I was glad that we were going to play (at Cog Hill)."
Abbie Dickey was within inches of making it a pair of qualifiers for St. Viator, only to fall short by a stroke, the sole player in the field to record an 82.
The third Lions' at-large qualifier -- Betsy Mleko --had her season end with a 91.
Claudia Schwan and Kelly Voight had an 87 and 89 for Fremd, respectively, and Hersey sophomore Catherine Park came in with a 98.