Emory completes career sweep
It was not an auspicious first tee shot for Marmion senior Bryce Emory.
"It's probably still rolling down Hill Avenue," he said.
Emory snapped hooked the ball out of bounds on the opening hole, but he still managed an unprecedented achievement Wednesday afternoon at Phillips Park at the Aurora City Tournament.
The Cadets' top golfer birdied the 18th hole to gain inclusion in a three-man playoff and survived an epic encounter with West Aurora senior Mark Torres for a career sweep of the venerable boys golf tournament.
Emory birdied the third sudden-death playoff hole - reaching the 557-yard, par-5 beast with driver, 8-iron - to capture his fourth consecutive individual championship.
Marmion also reclaimed the team title from West Aurora to accentuate the historic triumph by Emory in an event six-plus decades old. The Cadets fired a collective 310; Waubonsie Valley was second at 318, and West Aurora was third at 320.
Aurora Central Catholic (325), Aurora Christian (341), IMSA (405) and East Aurora (466) rounded out the seven-team field.
Emory recovered from his double-bogey start with a trio of birdies, including one on the home hole to record a 75.
Torres, meanwhile, the Blackhawks' second player, had a putt on 18 to win outright, but it slide past on the high side.
Then out of nowhere, Marmion seventh-man Roy Logan nearly stole the spotlight.
The junior had an eagle attempt from 8 feet on the closing hole to turn back Emory and Torres.
"Me knees were shaking on the putt," Logan said.
The putt sped past, and the Cadets' junior was eliminated on the opening playoff hole - the first - with a bogey.
Emory and Torres had routine pars, and the West Aurora senior appeared to take command with a laser-like shot to within a yard on the par-3 second.
"That was a great shot," Emory said. "At that point I had nothing to lose."
Emory hit a towering pitching wedge that hit long, only to spin back to within an equal distance.
"I thought he hit his shot long," Torres said. "It kept spinning and coming back."
The matching birdies were nearly duplicated on the third hole, but Torres' tying-effort missed by inches.
"This is my senior year as a coach," said Marmion's Jen Konen. "(The Emory sweep) is an amazing accomplishment that we might not see again."
West Aurora senior Kurtis Luedtke, Aurora Central junior Joe Karkos and Waubonsie Valley sophomore Josh Stefanski all missed the playoff by a stroke, finishing at 5-over-par 76.
"I just couldn't make a putt," said Luedtke.
Tim Johnson (79) and David Brouch (81) secured the team title for Marmion.
Ryan Heun and Brent Minta had matching 81s to lead Aurora Christian, and Luke Nayak paced IMSA with an 82.
Girls volleyball
Rosary d. Immaculate Conception 25-18, 25-21: The Royals (7-4, 3-2) swept the Knights in the SCC match in Aurora. Lindsay Weber had 10 kills and three blocks while Kelly Hogan added eight kills and four digs.
SCN clinic: The St. Charles North volleyball program will be holding a volleyball clinic for girls and boys in grades four through eight from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 4 in the high school's gymnasium, 255 Red Gate Road.
The fee is $35 and all participants will receive a T-shirt and snack. The volleyball clinic will be taught by St. Charles North volleyball players and coaches. Participants do not need to be a resident of St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 to attend. Preregistration is recommended to hold a spot, and it may be completed by mailing the student's name, grade, school, parents name and phone number along with a $35 check payable to SCN Volleyball and sent to SCN Volleyball, 255 Red Gate Road, St. Charles, IL. 60175. Preregistration is due by Sept. 27. For more information, call Michele Nelson at (630) 762-9994.
Soccer
SCE clinic: The St. Charles East boys soccer program will host a clinic on Oct. 5 at SCE stadium from 1-3 p.m.
The clinic is open to all boys and girls in K-6th grades. Participants will receive a shirt and admission to the October 11 varsity game where they can be ball boys and girls and will join in halftime festivities. The clinic will be hosted by Paul Jennison, SCE's new varsity coach. If interested, contact Eileen Kurtz at 630-513-0438.
Women's soccer
Aurora 10, Wisconsin Lutheran 0: The Spartans (5-2, 2-0) dominated the visiting Warriors in the NAC match. They totaled 46 shots while the Warriors had zero. Haley Pschirrer opened the scoring in the 12th minute and recorded a hat trick for the game. Jessica Novickas added a goal and 2 assists.
Waubonsee 1, Moraine Valley 0: Jessica Cobo scored the lone goal in the 40th minute. The Chiefs (6-2-0, 4-1) have shut out three straight opponents.