Saints dominate UEC meet
St. Charles East swept away St. Andrews' biting winds like a fly at a picnic.
The girls golf championship at the Upstate Eight Conference Tournament was settled early and often, and the rest of the field was left in the dust by the Saints' top three players Tuesday afternoon in West Chicago.
Rachael Edwards and Jenny Niemiec were co-champions with 6-over-par 77s, and sophomore Nicole Rae solidified the Saints' unrelenting assault with a 78 as St. Charles East continued its unvanquished league run this fall.
Rebecca Norris' 90 completed the Saints' 322 total overall; St. Charles North was a distant second at 344.
The South Elgin/Bartlett/Streamwood co-op was third at 360, followed by Neuqua Valley (368), Waubonsie Valley (377) and Lake Park (424).
"Probably one of the best 18-hole rounds I've ever had in my life," said Niemiec, the Saints' returning state qualifier who matched her career low. "It was really exciting that we did this well today."
After struggling with four 3-putts on her opening nine, Edwards restored her play with prodigious length on the back nine.
The senior reached the par-5 14th with a driver and 3-wood for a routine birdie and snaked in a 20-footer at the last - the ball did a complete 360 before settling in the hole - for another birdie.
"I wasn't going to let myself shoot in the 80s," Edwards said.
Rae was at 5-over after a birdie on the first hole - the 16th in the shotgun start - eventually settling for a three-way tie for third with Streamwood junior Carly Schneider and St. Charles North junior Marin Beagley at 78.
The fluctuations of the regular season were nowhere to be found for Rae on the chilly autumnal afternoon.
"There's more pressure to drive me to do better," Rae said. "I'm really happy with my score."
"That's what we need to get to state this year (as a team) - that's our goal," Edwards said of the Saints' top-three scores.
Edwards and Niemiec, who had three birdies on the day, had matching 37s on their inward nines, the lowest nine-hole scores on the afternoon.
Rae, meanwhile, was the only player to break 40 on each side with her pair of 39s.
"This is a good performance for us," St. Charles East coach Rod Osborne said. "We were looking for some momentum (for the class AA Naperville Central regional Oct. 8). That's what we talked about before the tournament today."
Beagley was a shot off the pace for St. Charles North; the junior matched Edwards' 40 front nine playing in the lead foursome, only to fall short.
"(The birdie on 14) kind of helped me to get some momentum back," Beagley said. "My front nine was terrible."
Sophomore transfer KK Barr fired an 86 to tie for seventh for St. Charles North, and the North Stars' Miranda Fencl earned all-conference status with her 88.
"We just have to have that fourth score to get through (Naperville Central)," St. Charles North coach Chris Patrick said.
It was a bittersweet day for Neuqua Valley four-year top-gun Hannah Buck.
In her three previous conference tournaments, Buck was runner-up by a stoke each year.
The Wildcats' ace reached 16 greens in regulation, only to have her putter desert her with seven 3-putts.
The resulting 80 left Buck in sixth place.
"I never got comfortable on these greens," Buck said. "Since I have been playing so well lately, I wanted to continue (the run). I just didn't play as well as I should have."
But there certainly was a silver lining as Buck was anointed the league MVP when combined with her five regular-season medalist performances.
The South Elgin/Bartlett/Streamwood squad came into the tournament in a three-way tie for second with St. Charles North and Neuqua Valley.
Andrea Mastro, a senior at South Elgin, found the perfect tonic for wayward shots off the tee to finish in a tie for 10th with an 89.
"(My ball-striking) was a lot better than usual," Mastro said. "My drives were actually going straight for once. My putting and chipping were really good, too."
Bartlett freshman Samantha Coyne fired a 95 for the schools' third score; South Elgin junior Kaitlyn Boehne was three higher to round out the 368 total.