St. Charles N. completes perfect season
It was not an auspicious start to the school week for the St. Charles North girls golf team.
“The bus got a flat tire,” St. Charles North coach Chris Patrick said.
But it was the remainder of the Upstate Eight Conference who was deflated by the North Stars Monday at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago.
Carly Hudon, Kate Lillie and Jessica Grill monopolized the fourth through sixth positions at the par-71 layout, and top-rated freshman Gi Furrie shot an 81 to place eighth as the North Stars shaved 14 shots off their program record in concluding a perfect season in the single-division league.
Hudon and Lillie shot matching 77s for St. Charles North, whose 314 total was cemented by the 79 Grill posted.
All four counting members for St. Charles North were named all-conference.
Waubonsie Valley, which produced the medalist and most valuable player in Bing Singhsumalee, was runner-up at 327 behind the 1-under 70 the reigning state amateur champion authored.
Metea Valley and Geneva ended up tied for third in the final standings, followed by West Chicago, Neuqua Valley, St. Charles East, Batavia and South Elgin.
The Elgin-Larkin coop did not have enough players for a team score.
“Even this year we haven’t been in the 320s,” Patrick said. “I knew we had to shoot better than (we did) on Saturday (at Naperville North). The girls always seem to play well here. It’s really exciting for the girls, the team, the school.”
Lillie, a freshman, and Hudon, a senior transfer from Sycamore, each had their season low for the North Stars.
“I knew my game was good by the time the high school season started,” said Lillie, on making an immediate impact on the program. “But you never know in the game of golf. I hit eight of my nine greens (in shooting a 2-over 37) on the front.”
“I was looking at the 70s,” said Hudon, who played her inward-nine in 37 after making the turn in 40. “You can never be above the hole on this course. I was (purposely) leaving my approach shots short.”
Underclassmen Kari Kirl and Katherine Flatt had matching 89s to pace Geneva.
The Vikings’ fourth-place 366 was completed when Nicole Hassels fired a 91, and Allie Henry added a 97.
Elise Anderson did not have a counting score for Geneva, but the senior earned the final all-conference selection based on the strength of her regular-season play.
Darby Crane is the unquestioned elder statesman of the St. Charles East golf team.
The senior, who has been the Saints’ low performer in all but one of their tournaments, earned all-conference distinction for the second straight year.
Underclassmen Reagan Stanton, May Ellen Combs and Bailey Griggs were the Saints’ other contributors.
“Not great, but I have played worse,” Crane said of her 88. “I played better than I did Saturday (at Naperville North). (The team has) a really nice group of girls. They will be strong in a couple of years. They’re just inexperienced.”
Becca Hasemann had a career-low 85 to lead Batavia.
“We have a couple of girls (Hasemann and Lauren Anderson) who can make it to the sectional,” Batavia coach Morgan Connell said.
Singhsumalee has been focusing on her putting in fine-turning her game for a potential state-championship run.
“I had a lesson (on Sunday) — and it worked,” said Singhsumalee, who torched the front nine with a 33. “I was hitting (my putts) on the heel (of the putter). Now I’m hitting them in the middle (of the blade).”
It was the first career individual conference` championship for Singhsumalee, who birdied the first sudden-death playoff hole to earn MVP honors over Neuqua Valley sophomore Jessica Yuen.
“Even with her 70, (Singhsumalee) would probably say she left some putts out there,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jack Farnan said. “This might be the first (Waubonsie Valley) player to win player of the year.”
Rebecca O’Bryan had a seventh-place 79 to further the Warriors’ cause; Kayla McHale and Caitlin Fernandez completed the Waubonsie Valley scoring foursome.
“(My play) was really consistent,” O’Bryan said. “I had some ups and downs. I didn’t let it faze me (negatively).”
Yuen, in the footsteps of a 1-under playoff loss on Saturday at Naperville North, fired a 73 to place runner-up to Singhsumalee.
“I didn’t play as well as I wanted to,” Yuen said. “I kind of forgot what happened in the playoff (against WW South junior Kelly Anderson). I should have had more birdies.”
None of the other five Neuqua Valley players were able to break 100.
Metea Valley was third overall behind the solid play of sophomores Niquole Mangal and Katelyn Kline.
The two earned all-conference selections after respective rounds of 76 and 82.
Mangal, third in the tournament, was playing with a painful left shoulder injury.
Kline, who transferred to Metea Valley after qualifying for the state meet last fall as a Benet freshman, snared the final top-10 berth.
Hanna Netisingha, the DuPage Valley Conference champion last year, and Tessa Dittman were also named to the 12-player all-league team for West Chicago.
For the nine local competitors from the five Elgin-area schools, Kristi Struck came the closest to finishing in double digits.
The South Elgin senior was the low player from the area with an even 100.
“My score could have been much better,” Struck said. “Honestly, my shots are coming together. My iron game has really improved since the start of the year. I am very excited going into the state tournament (series).”
The other members of South Elgin are Katie Kirkby, Brynn Warrick, Kelli Nguyen, Teagan Pompa and Megan Slowik.
“That was our big goal: to (have an individual) break 100,” South Elgin coach Amber Huisinga said. “We got as close as we could get. I can’t be too unhappy with that. I want to get (our team score) under 400 (at the regional).”
Illness cost the Elgin-Larkin team two players.
Jordan Dick, a junior at Larkin, fired a 101 for the Royals.
“I played decently,” Dick said. “I hit my driver very well.”
Denise Lorenz and Kendall Hennig were the other competitors for Larkin.
Streamwood sophomore Kristie Toondarack was the low scorer among the area JV participants.