Girls golf: Scouting Cook and Lake County
Stevenson is motivated to stand atop the state in girls golf this season after finishing in second place in Class 2A last season.
The Patriots should be among the top teams in the state once again due to a talented group of golfers in the fold in Sophia Joeng, Campbell Ray, Ava Alimissis, Lily Wang and Emma Fiocchi. Alimissis finished seventh last season at state.
“Coming off a state runner-up finish last season, our team is hungry and motivated to take the next step,” Stevenson coach Emma Degen said. “With several key players returning, we’re looking forward to building on last year’s success and putting together another strong season.”
The Carmel Corsairs are looking to compete in the loaded East Suburban Catholic Conference behind the return of Idaly Sereno, who earned first place at regionals last season. Gabriella Stephens is a golfer to watch this season.
“With four returners from our second place regional team last season, led by our two juniors, we’re hoping to make another push at sectionals and beyond,” Carmel coach Kyle Lees said.
Antioch is not short on returnees, with Stella Neff, Marleigh Gaulin, Makenna Sekany, Zoey Ziewach, Tyler Eppers and Ally Zuilek all leading the team.
Grant earned a third-place finish in the NLCC last season and has four returning varsity players in Abigail Daniele, Emily McCormick, Desiree Dickson and Caitlyn Themanson.
“We’re looking for our returnees to provide leadership to propel the team this season,” Grant coach Andrew Havenga said. “We will also have some returning JV girls and a few newcomers who will compete for the final two varsity slots.”
Grayslake North returns its entire squad from last season, highlighted by top golfer, junior Grace Salas.
“This year we hope to take steps toward being competitive in our conference with our junior dominated team,” Grayslake North coach Scott Ewen said.
Lakes lost five seniors a year ago, but senior Alysia Friedel Foat and junior Ava Swearengen will look to top last season’s second-place regional finish.
Libertyville’s girls golf team is brimming with talent. Sophomore Kenzie Christie is the top returnee and sophomore Abby Feltz is improved and taken big strides in the offseason and appears poised to put her name among the top golfers in Lake County, according to coach Greg Pedersen.
Senior Claire Weadick is a solid and consistent golfer. The Wildcats finished 9-1 last season, with their lone loss coming to Stevenson and won the program’s first regional championship in almost a decade.
“Having Kenzie and Abby at the top of the order automatically makes us competitive,” Pedersen said. “We will challenge those two to become consistent and to play with a mental toughness that reacts well to adversity. We hope Claire is a rock for us, providing a consistent third score. And then we have a stable of golfers trying to reach that varsity level, including sophomore Annie Lyon who might hit the longest drive of players I've coached in 17 years. We'll look forward to a competitive season.”
Mundelein is relying on juniors Addison Field and Bridget Niziolek to lead the team.
“We graduated four key seniors, but with two returning juniors, as well as some promising juniors, we look to improve on last season’s dual meet record in a very competitive North Suburban Conference and qualify multiple girls for the sectional,” Mundelein coach Thomas Kuhn said.
Warren’s top returnees include seniors Taylor Axton and Tessa Youngman, while newcomers include Ella Chand, Annika Tendrick and Claire Cummings.
“We have a committed group of returning players who have shown growth from last year, and we look forward to seeing what they can do in competition this year,” Warren coach Leigh Ann Mondrawickas-Boncher said.
Wauconda’s McKenna Powers, a sectional qualifier last season, is the leader on a small team that includes Ashley Maxwell, Alexia Manalo, Sophie Mantell and Georgia Reimers and newcomer Cierra Giacomino.
Barrington finished in fourth place at state last season, so look for another strong run due to conference, regional and sectional champion Reese Wallace leading the team. Junior Teagen Carden, who placed 36th at state last season, is joined by Olivia Yoon, Annie Carden, Phoenix Hernandez and Mira Upadhyay.
“We’re looking forward to building on last year’s strong season,” Barrington coach Tim Martin said. “We have an experienced team that has worked really hard to continue the strong tradition of Barrington Fillies golf.”
Buffalo Grove enters the season with high expectations following last season’s third place in the MSL tournament. Senior Courtney Beerheide, a two-time all-stater, headlines a talented and deep group of returnees that also includes Meagan Ryan, Abbey Foster, Kaitlyn Bauman, Brooke Wells, Alexis Ro, Monika Duchoslave, Lyla Scandron and Alexia Bellantuono.
“We’re looking forward to this season,” Buffalo Grove coach Jeff Grybash said. “We have a great senior class that’s experienced and motivated to finish their careers on a positive note.”
Conant is led by sophomore Madeline Gutierrez who made a big splash by finishing ninth in the Class 2A state tournament last season in her freshman season. Fellow sophomores Tara O’Mahoney, Santina Papucci and Kate Clark, along with junior Riya Cheriyan and senior Riya Patel, round out a young but talented team.
“With Madeline leading the way, we are looking forward to taking on this season by storm,” Conant coach Megan Hebert said.
Elk Grove is a team with big aspirations due to junior Hannah Carlson and seniors Sophia Dean and Chloe Eizenga aiming for banner seasons.
“Our varsity lineup of Carlson, Eizenga and Dean have spent the entirety of the summer fine tuning their game by playing a wide variety of courses around the area,” Elk Grove coach John Marshall said.
With six returnees, Palatine is hopeful to make some noise late in the season. The Pirates bring back Eliza Bradshaw, Madison Brand, Keira McPartlin, Annie O’Keefe, Eesha Pradhan and Abby Schorsch.
“We have a relatively young team, but the girls had a great summer and are excited to continue to improve,” Palatine coach Matt Vosburgh said. “We’re happy with the increase in numbers in our program and looking forward to our experienced players being great leaders.”
Maine South welcomes a new coach in Lindsay Pisano. The Hawks had four individual sectional qualifiers last season, with senior Sydney Hollingsworth and Alexis Vengazo looking to build off last season’s strong showing.
With three players back with multiple years of varsity experience, Prospect is looking to win the conference title. Senior Allison Warnment is joined by Maddie Bielecki and Peyton Camardella as the main golfers, while Aribelle Torres and Evie Thomas are golfers to watch. The Knights won a regional title and finished sixth at sectionals last season.
“Allison has a ton of experience and shot several rounds in the low 80s last year,” Prospect coach Brad Rathe said. “We’re looking to be very competitive with a very challenging schedule.”
Rolling Meadows earned sixth in the conference and second place at regionals last season. The Mustangs are leaning on Brooke Albu to lead the team this fall.
Schaumburg did well in tournaments and dual matches last season, aiming to continue that trend with Mia Genarella, Aleks Olszanecka, Megan Akers and Hailey Griffin among the top golfers.