St. Viator's Gattone earns ESCC co-medalist honors

Dana Gattone came into her freshman year at St. Viator hoping to make the varsity girls golf team.

On Thursday afternoon, Gattone made it to the top of the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Gattone shot a 6-over-par 78 to earn co-medalist honors with Bree Veazey of Marian Catholic at Village Greens Golf Course in Woodridge.

"I've been playing pretty well all season and the team had won conference the last two years, so we were all looking to play pretty good," Gattone said. "My goal was to medal in the top 10 but I definitely didn't think I'd tie for first."

Gattone helped Viator finish third as a team at 361 behind Benet (347) and Marian Catholic (348). She shot a 2-under 34 on the front nine with 4 birdies and only 12 putts.

"I played really well on the front," Gattone said. "On the back nine I didn't really string it together, but that's OK."

Gattone won a pair of Illinois Junior Golf Association tournaments at the end of the summer and started her first year at Viator by winning her first four tournaments.

Her ESCC finish made for quite a day at home as her senior brother Rick eagled his last hole to help the Viator boys team edge Carmel by a shot for the title.

"I was surprised at how well my season went but I strung together some good rounds," Dana Gattone said. "For both of us to play well is really exciting."