Knights take league title

The Mid-Suburban League girls golf championship started off under fair skies with fair scores and was played in fair conditions.

After nine holes, though, Mother Nature made her presence felt. A slight drizzle turned into a torrential downpour in a matter of minutes making play downright nasty on the back nine. But without hesitation, all ten teams squished and squashed their way through 4,648 yards of Arlington Lakes Golf Club in hopes of taking top honors this year.

Despite sand traps being flooded, extremely slow greens, and no roll on tee shots, quite a few players found ways to post a low score. Fortunately for Prospect, four of those low scores were produced by their upperclassmen, allowing the Knights to walk away as the 2008 champions with a final score of 326.

Seniors Alexa Campanile (80), Megan Geraghty (81), and Melanie Walsh (86) all produced quality rounds in their final Mid-Suburban League meet. Junior Karly Grouwinkel fired a 79 to lead the way for Prospect. Her score was good enough for second place individually.

"Coach told us to just forget about the rain and concentrate on our game," said Grouwinkel. "I think that helped our entire team stay in it and I'm just happy we were able to win."

After spending the entire meet reassuring his players to think dry thoughts, Prospect coach James Hamann praised not only his champions, but also all of the teams that played.

"The weather was tough for everybody. To see some of these low scores is amazing," said Hamann. " Our team has steadily gotten better all season and I attribute that to our girls because they're the ones out there playing every day."

Monday's championship was the best 18-hole meet of the season for Prospect and capped off a fall in which they went 11-0 in dual meets.

First-place medalist honors went to Barrington junior Taylor Quinn. Her score of 77 seemed unaffected by the conditions. Quinn will continue on as one of the area's top performers as the Fillies head for regionals.

"This win is a big confidence boost for me and it's really going to help in the rounds I have left this season," said Quinn. "I really want to go to state this year and continue playing well."

While Barrington did not win its sixth consecutive championship, the Fillies did finish in second-place as a team and first in the MSL West. Along with Quinn, the Fillies had an 89 from Mary Meg Gerbich and two 93s from Kelly Muskat and Julie D-Amico.

Hersey rounded out the top three with a score of 374. The Huskies were lead by senior Julie Klawitter who shot 89.

Finishing a close fourth was Conant. 2007 medalist Kris Yoo shot 80, which tied for fourth-place individually. Senior Kelly Crudell shot 92.

Fremd finished fifth as a team with its low score coming from Junior Kelly Voigt who shot 86.

While the conference meet normally marks the end of a career for many seniors, this one marked the end of a pair of coaching careers as well. Hersey coach Sue Hardey and Palatine coach Bill Ludwigsen will both be retiring at the conclusion of this year. Both have played vital roles in the development of Mid-Suburban League golf and have benefitted countless student-athletes.