Fansler, Vikes don't flinch

The Geneva girls golf team stared down the brutish weather.

The team's all-senior quartet cruised to their third consecutive conference title Monday afternoon at Fresh Meadows in Hillside.

The Vikings rode the hot play of Lindsey Fansler and utilized its superior depth and experience in dominating the five-team field in the rain-shortened tournament.

The conference is made up of the former members of the now dispersed Suburban Prairie - Geneva, Batavia and Glenbard South of the Western Sun and Riverside-Brookfield and Westmont from the Metro Suburban.

Geneva's fourth-rated player, Fansler won medalist honors by firing a cool, graceful 40. Teammates Kendall McCleary (43), Kim Connor (44) and Kelsey Kale (44) helped the Vikings capture four of the top five finishers.

"(Fansler) really knows how to turn it on at this time of year. She plays really well on that course," said Geneva coach Eric Hatczel.

The team's only disappointment was not being able to play the duration of the tournament. "We took them off the course in hopes we'd be able to finish the tournament, but it was raining very hard and the radar just showed a huge glob," said Hatczel.

And now the team is staring at bigger goals.

"We're hoping to keep that magic going and playing well next week (Class AA Minooka Regional) on Wednesday," said Hatczel. Batavia's runner-up finish was no less impressive given its top two performers, Kayla Lehman (44) and Kara Cullerton (45).

"They have played well the whole year, we just couldn't give them any support," said Batavia coach Leon Pedraza.

The Bulldogs' other scorers were Jill Ferguson (54) and Alejandra Serrate (55).

Glenbard South freshman Breanna Peterson carded a 54 in her school's first conference tournament appearance.