Girls golf: Naperville North’s Riley holes out in playoff in thrilling DVC tourney finish

Naperville North senior Georgia Riley hasn’t chosen a college yet, but when she enrolls next fall, she knows she wants to major in aerospace engineering.

She’ll probably have an advantage over her classmates on day one, because she already knows how to make a golf ball fly high, fast, and directly to its intended destination.

There was high drama Wednesday at Phillips Park Golf Course in Aurora, as Riley holed out from 86 yards on the first playoff hole against Mina Shyam of Waubonsie Valley to win the DuPage Valley Conference individual title.

The lefty, who carded a 76 along with Shyam to book her ticket to the playoff, sent her third shot on the 398-yard 16th hole towering toward the green, where it hit, bounced twice, and rolled into the hole as the fans and her teammates and coach went crazy.

“Once it went in,” said Riley, “I just flashed back to four years of high school.

“I was so happy, I started crying, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. (In the past) I would watch people participate in playoffs, and I thought about how cool it would be if I got to do that.

“When I found out I would be in the playoff today, I thought, again, how it would be so cool if I would be able to win, and it happened.”

Huskies coach Greta Williams was just about as excited as her player that Riley was able to win the individual championship.

“Oh my gosh, it was so exciting,” said Williams. “Georgia fought hard today, and seeing that shot go in, I have no words.

“Her being a senior, and this being her last year and her last conference tournament, it was incredible. She’s been such a leader, she works hard, and she shows the other girls how to be focused and dedicate themselves to playing.”

Neuqua Valley senior Carley Rogers earned the third place medal by shooting 77, and she led her squad to the team title.

The Wildcats finished with an overall mark of 328. Naperville North was second at 333, while Waubonsie Valley finished at 338.

“Driving here with my sister,” said Rogers, “I was thinking about how this was going to be my last match.

“I’ve grown as a player, and I think less about the next shot than I did when I was a freshman.”

Rogers added that her team has won the DVC team title all four years she’s been in the program.

“We didn’t know if we could do it this year, but we did so well as a team.”

Ashika Patel of Naperville Central, a junior, finished fourth overall with a 78.

Sophomore Malar Anand of Neuqua Valley won the fifth place medal by carding an 80; teammate Evan Ashley, a senior, shot 81 for sixth; while Alex Yeager of Naperville North (82), Mae Binknowski from Naperville Central (83), Hannah Lee of Waubonsie Valley (84) and Ansley Ellis of Metea Valley (85) rounded out the top 10.

Shyam of Waubonsie Valley, who finished second due to the stellar shot from Riley, almost matched her rival.

Her third shot on the 16th in the playoff, a chip from just off the green, was right on target but stopped about two feet from the hole.

She had previously eagled the 15th hole, a par-5, to rally and punch her ticket to the playoff.

“I was trying to keep my head level, and I had confidence,” said Shyam. “I knew I could pull off the shots that were a little tricky.

“I started off shaky (today) but thought I did pretty good at the end."