Batavia defends regional crown
Bogey was never in the equation for Tara Cullerton on the inward nine.
As a result, the Batavia sophomore standout made history Wednesday at Naperbrook Golf Course in Plainfield.
The Bulldogs' top player solidified her front-nine 41 at the Class AA Neuqua Valley girls golf regional with pars on her closing two holes.
Cullerton then played masterfully on her inward-nine; the sophomore chipped to get up and down for par at No. 10 and reached the next eight greens in regulation.
Although birdie proved elusive, Cullerton had nothing but routine pars the rest of way as her 36 coming in proved to be the lowest score on either side by 4 shots.
With her 77, Cullerton not only helped Batavia defends its postseason crown, but she became the first Batavia golfer in program history to win a regional championship.
"Tara is breaking new ground for our program," Batavia coach Leon Pedraza said after the Bulldogs handily defeated fellow sectional qualifiers Naperville Central and Naperville North with a 343 total.
"She has such a great temperament."
Cullerton offered a simple explanation for improving her inward-nine score by 5 strokes.
"The difference between nines was putting," Cullerton said. "I had three 3-putts on the front. For us to win last year was amazing, and to do it this year shows how consistent we have been as a team."
As usual, Cullerton had a perfect partner in crime: classmate Kayla Lehman, who gave the team another solid effort with her runner-up 81.
"I think we were confident we knew the course," Lehman said after fashioning scores of 41 and 40. "I didn't have any ups, didn't have any downs."
Megan Ramp and Alejandre Serrate turned in respective scores of 90 and 95 to cement the Bulldogs' 343 total, which was 21 strokes better than Naperville Central.
Batavia advances to St. Ignatius sectional at Cog Hill in Lemont on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the other local teams, the day was not as fruitful.
West Aurora and Rosary narrowly missed team berths to the sectional last year, but neither team came within shouting distance.
Rosary, which fired a 390 to finish in the middle of the 12-school pack, had consolation efforts from Natalie Haines and Lauren Voss.
Haines' inward-nine 42 was decisive as the Royals' senior will make her third straight sectional appearance as the result of her 88.
"I need to think of it as a fresh nine," Haines said of her thoughts making the turn. "After I got a couple of pars I knew I could do (make the individual cut)."
Lauren Hoss bettered the 94 cut line to also snare an at-large berth to Cog Hill.
Naperville Central junior Carolyn Wong had the low front-nine round of the tournament, a 40, and her resulting 82 was worth solo third place.
Sarah DeGeeter authored a pair of 43s, and the Redhawks' first trip to the sectional as a team in four years was cemented by juniors Emma Ondik and Jenny Petterec.
"I was trying to avoid any big numbers," said Wong. "We get to enjoy (the sectional) together."
"Home-course advantage always gives you a comfort level," said Naperville Central coach Jane Thompson, whose team fired a 364. "(The regional) is simply a matter of survival."
In a very balanced regional, the third and final team slot came down to the final golfer for Naperville North and Downers Grove North.
But the Huskies advanced for the first time in three years.
But Elisa Palluau, the Huskies' senior leader, is realistic her score, 90, will not earn her a second trip to the state finals.
"Even though I didn't shoot my best score, I'm happy we made it," Palluau said. "I wanted to get my confidence back."
Catherine Hillenbrand, Paige Wollensak and Lauren Bruski were all in the 90s as the Huskies edged Downers North by a pair with 374 their 376 total.
Waubonsie Valley, which had an at-large qualifier in junior Cherise Mangal, was fifth at 382.
Benet (388) had two qualifiers in Elaine Krebs and Christy Callahan, and Chloe Nettleton earned another sectional berth for eighth-place Neuqua Valley (396).