Hampshire's Ellett sisters seek another memorable season
Sometimes, time has a way of flying.
Hampshire girls golf standouts Taylor and Connie Ellett can relate.
It wasn't all that long ago that Taylor was a freshman who qualified for the state tournament. A year later, her younger sister joined her and the duo helped the Whip-Purs win the Big Northern Conference championship.
"I can't believe I'm a senior," Taylor Ellett lamented earlier this week. "It seems like the other day I was a freshman just starting out. It's kind of weird going to school. I don't feel like a senior. I don't feel like the oldest person here. It's kind of sad. This is the last year Connie and I will play together."
"It will be a lot different my senior year when she's not there," Connie said. "She's a nice person to play with. If you're playing bad, she helps. We've made a good team."
And the Ellett sisters plan on making 2010 a memorable tag-team swan song. In her first high school outing of the season, Taylor parred every hole at Timber Pointe in Poplar Grove in a nonconference win over Belvidere North. Connie followed up later in the week by winning the Barrington invitational.
"Both of them have improved by 4 strokes on their scores," said Hampshire coach Sue Ellett, the girls' mother and a former state qualifying golfer herself. "That's a huge leap. It's like the analogy of someone trying to lose 50 pounds. The first 30 is pretty easy and that last 20 can be tough. In golf, cutting that last chunk is the same way. It takes a serious commitment."
The sisters put that commitment on display this summer. Taylor posted the lowest stroke average in the senior girls division of the Illinois Junior Golf Association. All but two of her rounds were in the 70s.
Taylor won the Chicago District Golf Association Junior Amateur at Mill Creek in Geneva by 5 strokes over her sister. The girls also played in the Illinois Women's Golf Association junior tournament in Champaign where Connie finished seventh and Taylor took 11th. The sisters also tested their mettle against a field of mainly collegians at Flossmoor Country Club. Taylor shot an 83 and Connie recorded an 86 on the 6,000-yard layout.
"If you can handle that course, you can handle anything in college," said their mom. "They beat a lot of collegiate kids in the state of Illinois.
"I've watched them grow up a lot. I've seen them mature physically and mentally. I see a senior and a junior out there. I've seen them mature into young ladies. They are going out and doing the thing they love and they are doing well. I expect big things and they expect big things out of themselves."
Besides playing against top-flight competition in the summer, the Ellett sisters also did plenty of work behind the scenes. Both sisters credit their dad, Doug (a Hampshire graduate and longtime area high school baseball and football coach), for elevating their short games.
"My dad has a great short game," Taylor said. "He can hit shots from anywhere. He helps us out a lot with that. Even if you are not hitting the ball the best, your short game can save you."
"He's the short game master," Connie laughed. "He knows all of these different types of shots. He'll tell us, 'Try this one,' and we're like, 'Oh, OK.' "
The girls have also switched from women's clubs to men's clubs.
"I like them. The driver goes further and the irons are fit to our swings and they go straighter," Connie said.
"The new clubs have helped out," Taylor said. "They go straighter. They had to shorten them a little. I'm not that tall."
The Elletts also took time to reflect on the help and support their parents have given them on and off the golf course.
"It's nice to have them there," Connie said. "If we need to work on something after a match, they're right there showing us how to fix it and willing to work with us."
"I've played with girls in tournaments where their parents don't even watch and just drop them off," Taylor said. "I don't know if I would play golf if my parents didn't work with us or watch us. It's not like I would say, 'I'm going out to play golf.' It nice to have them out there with us. My dad can figure what's wrong with our swings in two seconds and my mom takes care of the mental side of the game. If we're down on the course, she picks us up. We definitely have great support."
In terms of the 2010 season, both sisters are excited from an individual and team standpoint.
"I'm very excited about the team," Taylor said. "I think we've got a chance to do very well. Jessie (Van Dorin) is shooting very well. It's always nice to have a third girl come in with a solid score. She's improved a lot."
Sue Ellett would like to see her team shoot under 178 during 9-hole matches and under 360 for the 18-hole tournaments.
"If we do that, we're going to win a lot more than we lose," she said.
The Whip-Purs are coming off a 15-0 dual-meet season last year. The team will be in search of its third BNC title in a row. Hampshire lost only one player from the 2009 team, but gains back junior Grace Jakubowski, who did not play last fall. Van Dorin and Karla Vietinghoff are the other seniors on the team along with Taylor Ellett.
Sue Ellett has been especially pleased with the progress Van Dorin has made.
"Jessie is a great story. She's one of my favorite stories," Sue Ellett said of the senior. "As a freshman, she shot 81 for nine holes. She's shooting 47 now."
Sue Ellett also feels her team has the potential to duplicate last year's success.
"We'd like to post similar numbers like being 15-0 and try and go for a three-peat in the conference," she said. "This is only the fourth year we've had a golf team here. I think a realistic goal would be to get the team to the sectional."
Taylor also has her sights set on a fourth individual appearance in the state tournament (she's played in one Class A and two Class AA state finals; Connie played in last year's Class AA state finals as well).
"My goal since I was a freshman has been to qualify all four years," Taylor said. "I want my sister to come with me this year."
Fox Valley Snapshot: Here's a quick look at some of the other area girls golf happenings. St. Edward brings back three players (Kelsey Richmond, Brittania Scheurs and Maddie Wazowicz) from last year's state-qualifying team. "We've only got five girls on the team, but by the end of the season, we'll be in good shape," said St. Edward coach Mike Lehman.
In the Fox Valley Conference, the Crystal Lake co-op team (with players from Central, South and Cary-Grove) will battle once again with fellow district school Prairie Ridge for the top spot in the league. Crystal Lake was bolstered by the addition of freshman Lexi Harkins (Central). Cary-Grove seniors Ashley Booth and Michelle Schoch and South senior Amanda Willis will also be key contributors.
Huntley welcomes back senior Holly Dryden, who was the team's medalist in the first two contests of the 2010 season. "Holly is a great golfer," said Huntley coach Ann Christiansen. "I expect her to have even lower scores by the end of the season."
Jacobs returns eight golfers from last year's squad, including senior Kelsey Woloszyk.
"Kelsey has really worked on her game this past summer," said Jacobs coach DJ Venne. "I believe she will make a positive impact on our team. She is confident." Woloszyk, senior Morgan Harvey (4-year player) and senior Ashley Morales are the team captains.
Dundee-Crown returns six girls, including juniors Sara Tompkins, Andi Huml and Kirstin Kaufhold, along with sophomores Lauren Wendt and Alexis Howe.
"Most of our new players have had some experience and our returning players are looking pretty good," said D-C coach Laurie Herb. "We're still a growing team."
The Bartlett-South Elgin co-op team is paced by junior Sam Coyne, a returning state qualifier from a year ago.
"The team will look to her for leadership," coach John O'Brien said.
The Bartlett-South Elgin varsity lineup will feature one junior, two freshmen and three sophomores.
"We are very young this year," said O'Brien. "We will look to get a little better each week leading up to the state tournament series."