St. Viator’s Gattone gets it done with fourth-place tie
St. Viator’s Dana Gattone saved her best for last.
Making her fourth trip to the state finals, the Illinois-bound senior shot a 74 on Saturday to finish in a tie for fourth in the Class AA state girls golf tournament at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur.
Gattone’s two-day score of 149 placed her behind Neuqua Valley’s Jessica Yuen (142), Waubonsie Valley’s Bing Singhsumalee (146) and Loyola’s Isabelle Kane (146), who shot a 4-under par 68 on Friday.
Buffalo Grove freshman Lauren Guiao (80-75) missed medalist honors by only 2 strokes, tying for 12th with a 155 for the two days.
Gattone is the first state medalist for Lions coach Mick Drewes in his eight seasons .
“Dana is just so consistent,” Drewes said. “She very seldom hits a bad shot. Her short game so solid.”
The windy conditions and soft course due to the rain the night before made things even tougher on the field.
“The biggest thing was how the wind was howling all day to the point it affected putts,” Drewes said.
Gattone’s shot a 1-under par 35 on the front and 39 on the back.
“She shot anywhere from 70 to 77 all season,” Drewes said. “She had a 75-74 down here in brutal conditions so that was very good.
“There were a lot of great players out there three- or four-putting. It was real tough conditions for putting.”
Gattone finished her round on Friday with a double bogey.
“That upset her a little,” Drewes said. “She wanted to finish strong. She fought all day (Saturday) and stayed calm.”
Gattone bogeyed two of her first three holes on Saturday, then recorded three straight birdies.
“That (three birdies) put her in right frame of mind,” Drewes said. “She plays real consistent and she’s a really good kid.”
Other area players downstate were Fremd senior Jennifer Kim (tied for 16th with a 156), Barrington freshman Reena Sulkar and Fremd senior Dorothy Feng (tied for 28th with 158) and Barrington freshman Shivani Majmudar (184).
Guiao’s 75 was one of the top five scores of Saturday’s round.
“She hit a ton of green and most of the fairways,” said Buffalo Grove coach Matt Myers of the talented freshman. “She also putted well. She was about as spot-on as possible.”
“It was exciting to see Prospect win it again,” he added. “It’s exciting to see how well our conference did.”
“He (Jim Hamann, Prospect coach) deserves to be patted on the back,” Drewes added. “Because he really had his team prepared.”