Scaccia, Prospect on top of their games
Nearly six weeks ago, Ally Scaccia set a Prospect record by shooting a 69 in a dual meet against Loyola.
Performing on a bigger stage on Tuesday, the senior missed breaking her own standard by mere inches.
Scaccia’s tap-in for par on her final hole capped her second career round of 69 as she claimed the individual championship of the Mid-Suburban League meet at the Fox Run Golf Course (par 71).
Not a bad score for someone who was more likely to shoot 69 for nine holes when she entered the program four years ago.
“With the wind today, that score is phenomenal,” said Prospect coach Jim Hamann, whose team was also phenomenal, shooting a meet-low 302.
“Ally can honestly birdie any hole — she is hitting the ball that well. We’ve been working all year on making her mistakes as minimal as possible.”
Make no mistake about it: this tourney belonged to the now six-time defending MSL champs.
Scaccia was one of five Knights in the top six, as Prospect topped Fremd (324), Buffalo Grove (336) and Barrington (360).
Fremd senior Dorothy Feng shot a school-record 73 to place second. She was followed by Prospect’s Noreen Caporusso (76), Kiley Walsh (78), Isabella Flack (79) and Emma Menich (80).
“To have six of the top 12 individuals and five of the top 6 is something to be very proud,” said Prospect coach Jim Hamann. “All the girls played great. I’m so proud of all eight.”
Fremd senior Jennifer Kim (81) grabbed seventh place, followed by Elk Grove senior Marki Kaim (personal best 82) and Buffalo Grove freshman Lauren Guaio (82), who tied for eighth.
Completing the top 20 were Fremd’s Jaehee Hur (83), Buffalo Grove’s Courtney Meyer (83), Prospect’s Kacie O’Donnell (84), Barrington’s Reena Sulkar (84), Buffalo Grove’s Amber Guaio (84), Conant’s Carly Byreans (85), Fremd’s Kelly O’Sullivan (87), Barrington’s Bailee McDonald (87), Buffalo Grove’s Colleen Zickert (87), Hersey’s Lindsay Perkins (88) and Fremd’s Haezi Jung (89).
Scaccia’s first round this season was also at Fox Run when she finished second in the Early Bird Invite with a 75.
“I was definitely better from 100 yards and in with this round,” said Scaccia, who made 5 birdies, 2 bogeys and a double bogey (4-putt). “My putting was not stellar but my chipping helped.”
Scaccia’s highlight reel included a 25-foot chip from off from the 14th green for a birdie.
“Obviously, it feels good,” Scaccia said of her low round (35-34). “It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come shooting in the 100s (four years ago) to breaking 70, which is a score close to what I shot for nine holes as a freshman.
“It’s funny to think back to then. I remember when Emma (Menich) and I were playing together in a dual meet as freshmen and we never though we’d come as far as we have.”
Flack’s 79 was also her season best. The junior shot a 77 as a sophomore.
“This was awesome,” she said of the Knights’ team score of 302, the lowest mark of any of its previous five titles. “I’m so glad to be a part of this team. I knew this team was awesome and that a score like this was possible. And we can do better.”
Feng never did better in a high school round (35-38) than Tuesday. She had a birdie and 4 bogeys while setting the Fremd standard.
“My approach shots weren’t that good but my putting made up for it,” she said. “I had the bogeys because of my chipping. My putting was really good.”
Fremd earned the MSL West crown for the second straight season.
“I thought we played well,” said Vikings coach Christine Vlaming. “There’s a lot of great teams here and it’s always an exciting tournament.
“Dorothy played great. She was steady all day. It was great to see all her hard work pay off.”
The MSL teams hope their work pays off at three different regionals next week.
Barrington is the lone representative in the Prairie Ridge regional while the other 11 schools will be at either the Mt. Prospect or Conant regional.
“I’d like to thank Conant and Fox Run for hosting such a nice event,” Hamann said. “We are hoping to take this momentum and have a great push in the postseason.”