Scouting girls golf state tournament / Northwest
Where: Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Carbondale
When: Friday and Saturday
Defending champion: Conant senior Kris Yoo parred the first playoff hole to win the title last year over senior Jamie Lavin of Deerfield. Yoo shot a 146 (72-74) at the Stone Creek Golf Course in Makanda. Two years ago, Yoo played on the Hickory Ridge course and tied for 11th in the state meet with a score of 151. "It's (Hickory Ridge) long and narrow," Yoo said. "There is a lot of trouble. You just have to play straight. I'm looking forward to it." Yoo is trying for a grand slam. She has already won the Mid-Suburban League (73), regional (71) and sectional (72) title. Yoo has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin.
Defending team champion: Marion High School with a score of 625. Homewood-Flossmoor was the runner-up with a score of 627.
Other area individual qualifiers: Fremd senior Kelly Voigt (77), Stevenson freshman Stephanie Miller, (79), St. Viator senior Abby Dickey (80), Buffalo Grove freshman Grace Kil (81), Prospect senior Ellie Tixier (81), St. Viator Hallie Dunn (82), Barrington senior Taylor Quinn (82). They all came out of the Buffalo Grove sectional at Buffalo Grove Golf Club where nine individuals qualified from eight different schools. "That demonstrates how difficult this sectional competition was," said Marianne O'Shea, the sectional director. "The difference between the second- and third-place teams was 1 stroke (Loyola edged St. Viator)."
Pressure? Fremd's Kelly Voigt should be pretty used it. After suffering serious injuries when she was bitten by a dog at the age of 7, Voigt started a nonprofit program called "Prevent the Bite." As a spokeswoman, Kelly has appeared on television shows, including Oprah Winfrey.
Also, Voigt has already played in the state finals of the IHSA softball tournament when her Vikings placed third in East Peoria last June. Voigt is an all-state third baseman.
Her score of 77 at Monday's sectional was a personal best in high school.
"Kelly works so hard," said Fremd coach Christine Vlaming. "She deserves this chance to play in the state finals."
Pressure II: Defending champ Kris Yoo has been through this before but she'd like nothing more than to repeat her crown.
"There is pressure because I want to win another one,' she said. "But I am not going to put too much pressure on myself because I've already won it once."
Conant coach Diana Johannesen expects the winner to be even par or below.
"But it depends on the weather, too," she said. "Kris is playing well. That back nine in the sectional (5-under 33 at Buffalo Grove) really helped her."
Been there: Prospect senior Ellie Tixier will be making her first appearance in the state finals but it won't be her first time at Hickory Ridge.
"I've played the course about five times," she said. "Thank God, our coach (Jim Hamann) is smart and takes us there every June to play.
"The short game is always the key to chipping and putting."
Double the fun: St. Viator, the East Suburban Catholic champions, is the only area school which has two state qualifiers - seniors Abby Dickey and Hallie Dunn.
They also played in the state finals last year when Viator qualified as a team and placed seventh.
Dickey's 30-foot uphill curving putt at the Conant regional gave the Lions their first regional title in school history.
Dunn's score of 82 in the sectional was her personal best for high school.
Thirty years ago: In 1979, Stevenson freshman Andrea Jaeger won the IHSA state singles tennis championship.
Now the Patriots have a freshman going for the title in girls golf.
Stephanie Miller fired a personal-best high school score of 71 to win the Warren regional and made the cut for the state finals with a 79 in the Buffalo Grove Grove sectional.
"This feels great," Miller said after her sectional round which included a pair of birdies. "One of my goals I set was to go state and I achieved that." Quite the rookie: Grace Kil may only be a 14-year-old freshman but she has accomplished something that hasn't been done by a Buffalo Grove player since 1999 - advance to the state finals.
Kil was 4 years old when Shannon Bryne was the last Bison compete in the IHSA state meet as the senior tied for 18th with a score 169.
"Getting a sense for the course in the practice round will be the key for Grace," said BG coach Matt Myers. "She is capable of making the shots. It's just a matter knowing the course.
"She is beyond excited for this. Getting here was her goal. Who knows? We'll see what happens." - John Leusch