Shower power: Prospect reigns at Bonnie Dundee

It rained for nearly nine straight hours at Barrington’s Class AA girls golf regional Wednesday at the Bonnie Dundee Golf Course in Carpentersville.

And Prospect reigned as champs like it never had before.

The Knights shattered their school record of 308 by shooting a 297 to defeat Fremd (323) and Buffalo Grove (329), who also qualified for next Monday’s Carmel sectional at Bonnie Brook in Waukegan.

The Knights stormed the course with individual school records, too.

Junior Noreen Caporusso came in with a 1-under 70 to break the former school mark of 72 held by Allison Walsh.

Moments later, junior Kiley Walsh entered the clubhouse with a scorecard showing 71.

Caporusso and Walsh finished second and third, respectively, behind medalist Stephanie Miller of Stevenson, who fired a 5-under 67.

“Noreen and Kiley were our practice ‘players of the day’ on Tuesday so I was glad to see their hard work paid off,” said coach Jim Hamann, who directed the Knights to a third straight regional crown. “I know I sound like a broken record, but I’ve been very pleased with our practices the last few weeks and it all paid off.”

Completing the defending Class AA state champs’ astonishing score were Ally Scaccia (76) and Isabella Flack (80). Prospect’s next two finishers were Emma Menich (82) and Kacie O’Donnell (85).

All six are underclassmen.

“I’m so happy for this team,” Caporusso said about her round which began by sinking a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and ending with her fourth birdie on No. 18. “We are all back, so it’s really exciting.”

Caporusso started her day with a little advice from her father, who is the Hersey varsity boys coach.

“A lot of times he’ll say something the morning of a meet,” she said. “He told me a quote (Wednesday morning) from a good friend — ‘trust you must or your game is a bust’. And I also got some help from my coach John Elliott. He reassured me my game was ready and made me feel confident about myself.”

Her game was ready like never before as Caporusso established the program’s all-time best round of 18 holes that included 4 birdies, one bogey and one double-bogey.

Teammate Kiley Walsh produced the second-best school round with 5 birdies, 3 bogeys and a double bogey at No. 17.

“What’s really cool is that we’re all back next season and we were still able to shoot a school record and in these conditions,” she said. “The possibilities are endless.”

“Breaking 300 has been a goal of our since the beginning of the season. What’s funny, when we started the postseason, we knew it ws going to happen then because this is really when it matters.”

Joining the Knights in Waukegan will be Fremd and Buffalo Grove.

Dorothy Feng’s 75 led coach Christine Vlaming’s Vikes’ followed by Angie Kim (77), Jennifer Kim (81), Jaehee Hur (90) and Paige Candra (90).

Feng’s 33 on the front was the best nine-hole score of the day expect for Miller’s 32 on her front nine. Angie Kim recovered smartly from a 42 on the front with a 35 on the back.

Coach Matt Myers’ Bison earned a spot with Grace Kil’s 74 followed by Amber Guiao (81), Courtney Meyer (83) and Kelli Zickert (91).

“We were who hoping to do this (qualify for sectional) all season,” Meyer said. “You just had to keep your gloves and grips dry out there.”

Individuals qualifying for the sectional are St. Viator’s Dana Gattone (74), Barrington’s Heather Ciskowski (78), Hersey’s Flo Eitelbach (79), Stevenson’s Nicole Marquardt (83), St. Viator’s Amy Stringfellow (84), Barrington’s Kelly Umphred (87), Lake Zurich’s Kristina Kininmonth (88), St. Viator’s Hailey Gainer (89) and Lake Zurich’s Melissa Uhl (90), who won a playoff hole for the final spot.

Barrington veteran Hall of Fame coach Jodi Schoeck was impressed by the play despite the adverse weather conditions.

“No one complained,” she said. “The girls all took it in stride and did what they had to do. Twenty years ago, it would have been tough for these girls to have finished but today they faced the adversity head-on and did the job. Everyone should be proud for hanging in there.”

Now it’s on to Waukegan.

“We will celebrate this today and after the season,” Hamann said. “But for now, we have short-term memory, and focus on our next tournament — which is Monday.”

Come rain or shine.