Stevenson's Miller quickly comes up big
Stephanie Miller's reputation preceded her to Stevenson High School.
Twice, she was selected an Illinois Junior Golf Association Player of the Year. In July, at the prestigious Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego, Miller made the cut and finished 27th in the 13-14 age group.
"There were girls from Thailand, China and Korea," Miller said. "I was up there with some really wonderful players."
No wonder that a lot was expected of Miller. And the 5-foot-1, 97-pound domino responded by stringing together a season that lived up to her advance billing.
"She's a freshman phenom-that's for sure," Stevenson coach Andrew Conneen said.
In her first tournament, Miller fired a 74 to win the individual title by 2 strokes at the Lake County Invitational. She book-ended her regular season with a second-place showing (76) at Wednesday's North Suburban Conference tournament.
Miller and the Patriots will play in an IHSA regional Wednesday at Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee.
On her first hole at the season-opening Lake County Invitational, Miller chipped in for par. On the next hole she curled in an 8-footer for birdie and never looked back.
How far can she hit the ball off the tee? If pounds were yards, almost 21/2 times her weight.
"I use all my weight," she said with a smile. "I (concentrate) on moving through the ball."
Conneen just chuckled when asked about how far Miller belts the ball.
"She shows all the girls that if you put that kind of time into your golf swing you can really put it out there," Conneen said. "Even more important, she is deadly with her short game. She's competed in big-time tournaments and it shows. She's a seasoned veteran."
Into the clown's mouth: Miller may be Stevenson's most well-known player, but Patriots senior Ewa Kaszuba garnered more than her share of the spotlight at the NSC Tournament at Deerpath Golf Course.
Kaszuba recorded a hole-in-one on the 160-yard par-3 eighth. She is believed to be the first female golfer to ace the 8th hole in course history.
"The ball looked great in the air and started rolling toward the hole," said Kaszuba, who used a 5-iron. "When it disappeared, it was absolutely the most incredible moment. I started screaming. I'm sure I scared a lot of other girls on the course."
The play of Kaszuba helped Stevenson win its third consecutive conference tournament.
"It was a remarkable way to finish the conference season," Conneen said. "She made a lot of adult golfers in the clubhouse very jealous."
Lake Zurich junior Lisa Kowieski doesn't have anything to be jealous about. Against Libertyville on Sept. 16, Kowieski used a 7-iron to ace the 134-yard seventh hole at Wynstone Golf Club.
Moving up: While No. 1 Libertyville golfer Marilyn Stone was out with an injury, the Wildcats turned to Athena Cocallas.
And the senior responded with consistent scores from the top spot.
"It's a lot more pressure because you're expected to set the bar for everyone, but it's been fun," she said.
Cocallas has consistently shot in the mid 90s for 18-hole tournaments, an improvement of about five strokes from last year.
Her formula for success would work for any golfer.
"My drives are a lot longer and my putting has gotten a lot better," Cocallas said.