Stevenson's Miller heats up, qualifies for state

It certainly wasn't one of the warmest days to play golf this fall.

But for Stevenson 14-year-old freshman Stephanie Miller, she hardly noticed the temperatures, which hovered in the 40s for most of the Class AA Buffalo Grove girls golf sectional at Buffalo Grove Golf Club.

Miller was too focused Monday on reaching her goal of a trip to the state finals in Carbondale this weekend.

"It was a wonderful day," she said after her score of 79 placed her in a tie for fifth place and gave the chance to play at the Hickory Ridge Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. "Today was a great day. At least it didn't snow. It was supposed to."

Miller shot a 39 on the front and 40 on the back for her 4-over 18-hole round. She had a pair of birdies on the front nine.

"The greens were really fast," said Miller, who was coming off her personal best score of 71 at the Warren regional last week. "They were in good shape."

New Trier (312) and Loyola (334) finished in the best shape as far as the team standings were concerned, finishing first and second.

Defending state champ Kris Yoo of Conant shot a 3-under 72 to win medalist honors.

The senior produced a 5-under 33 on the back nine, including 5 birdies.

Yoo, coming off a Mid-Suburban League and regional title, won the sectional title by 2 strokes over New Trier's Elizabeth Szokol (74).

Fremd's Kelly Voigt could not have picked a better time to shoot the best 18-hole score of her high school career (77) to finish third, 1 stroke ahead of New Trier's Kristin Wright (78).

Miller was the last golfer to break 80 with her score of 79.

Other local qualifiers who made the cut for Carbondale were St. Viator senior Abby Dickey (80), Buffalo Grove freshman Grace Kil (81), Prospect senior Ellie Tixier (81), St. Viator senior Hallie Dunn (82) and Barrington senior Taylor Quinn (82).

"Kris (Yoo) played her game," said Conant coach Diana Johannesen. "She had an unbelievable back nine."

"I am very happy," Yoo said. "I just had to put it all back together (for back nine). Kelly had a great day. She pushed me so I have to thank her."

"My whole game was just on," said Voigt, an all-state third baseman who played for the Vikings' Class AA third-place state team last spring. "I was just playing everything smart. It was great to play with such a great group (Kil and Maine South's Rachel Oberheide who shot an 81). There were good vibes all-around."

"Kelly is just a tremendous athlete," said Fremd coach Christine Vlaming. "She is extremely gifted and it will be awesome to watch her in Carbondale."

Kil became the first Bison since Shannon Byrne in 2000 to qualify for state.

"I was happy with how I played in the middle of my round, but the not the start or the end," said the 14-year-old Kil, who punched a nifty sand shot to within 4 feet on the par-5 No. 16 and then sank the putt for birdie. "It's been a goal of mine to get to state so I'm really excited."

Prospect senior Ellie Tixier is excited about making her state finals debut.

"My short game really came through," said Tixier, who carded a 39-42. "Everything came together so it was awesome."

Dickey and Dunn said it was tough seeing their Lions miss state by a stroke.

"That was a killer," said Dunn, who shot a personal best for high school. "At least we put up a fight. It wasn't a landslide.

"I was happy with my round," Dickey added. "I wish my whole team made it but Loyola played awesome and won by 1 stroke."

Dickey, who like Voigt also plays third base for her Lions softball team, made 11 pars and 1 birdie.

"I hit the ball really solid," she said. "My tees shot were where I wanted them. I didn't putt as well as I would have liked to."

Quinn's final putt put her into the state finals for a fourth straight season.

After just missing a 36-footer for eagle on the par-5 18th hole, Quinn sank a downhill, breaking 4-footer for the birdie which earned her a trip to Carbondale.

"I was thinking this may be my last high school hole," said Quinn, who will play for the University of Minnesota. "Then I said, never mind. I can't think that way. I'm going to state."

Instead she made the putt, giving her a 43-39 for the round, the exact same score she shot in the sectional as a freshman.