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Girls golf: Consistent St. Charles North savors regional crown

Consistency has been the strongest part of the game this season for the St. Charles North girls golf team and it was again on Wednesday.

Led by an even-par medalist round of 71 from junior Kate Lillie, the North Stars ran away with the team championship of the Class AA Burlington Central regional, shooting a 303 at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course.

"I'm very pleased with the girls," said SCN coach Irish Whalen. "They're a very competitive group and every day they're just trying to get better and better. They've met and exceeded my expectations all season. They push each other to be a better team and better individuals. They support each other on and off the golf course and that has helped them become a more competitive team."

St. Charles East (327) and Geneva (354) earned the other two team qualifying spots for Monday's Oak Park-River Forest sectional at Cog Hill in Lemont. The Saints were led by junior Rose Bundy with a 78 and Geneva was paced by sophomore Darby Lillibridge with an 82.

But the day belonged to the North Stars, who saw freshman Megan Furtney card a 74, while junior Gianna Furrie and freshman Emma Hayes each carded 79s as they won the seventh regional title in program history.

Lillie's round exemplified the consistency the North Stars had on Wednesday.

"I just went into the round wanting to post a good score and keep it as simple as possible," said Lillie, who birdied three holes. "On this course you just have to keep it on the fairway and stay below the hole and today I kept it below the hole."

After Bundy's 78, St. Charles East got an 82 from junior Kacie Gaffney, an 86 out of sophomore Nicole Jordan and a 91 from senior Karina Shah.

"Moving on to the next stage is always great," said Saints' coach Rod Osborne. "We didn't play our best on the first nine but we hung in there and did much better on the back nine, back to our average.

"I'm so proud of what they've accomplished the last two years. Two years ago this was a 400 team. They've really worked hard at it and improved. They've gotten a lot more serious about it."

Geneva secured the third team qualifying spot by 14 strokes over Batavia. After Lillibridge's 82, the Vikings had senior Reilly Krohe shoot 88, junior Gabby Devlin 91 and junior Kendal Fioresi 93.

"I was driving the ball really well today which I was really excited about because last week I was going left and right," said Lillibridge. "The only thing I really struggled with today was my putting. It would either lip out or sit on the edge. There were a couple holes on the back nine I could have played better but overall I'm pleased with the day."

Geneva coach Doug Ross was happy his team was able to shoot 20 strokes better on the back nine after struggling to a 187 on the front.

"I'm definitely pleased with how they responded after the front nine," Ross said. "We got off to a shaky start but as they have in the past they found a way to rally back."

Lake Park sophomore Nicole Hansen led the 10 individual qualifiers not on a qualifying team with an 81.

"I didn't do too well on the front or the back but after the turn I was more confident with my swing," Hansen said. "Every wood off the tee shot left but I came back strong and kept a good mindset and that helped me. I'm excited for the sectional."

The Lancers also qualified junior Brooke Maloney with a 95.

Burlington Central qualified two girls for Cog Hill - senior Josie Kurosky with an 82 and senior Melanie Croke with a 97, which was the individual cut.

"I started on the back and didn't shoot very well," Kurosky said. "I was all over the place and scrambling a lot. "But on the back I got a couple pars and I birdied the last hole to finish with 40. I'm a better player than that and I could have done better today. Now I just have to practice and focus on sectionals."

The South Elgin co-op will send three golfers to Cog Hill, including senior Kristie Toondarack, the only Streamwood student on the team, who shot an 87.

"I had a lot of up and downs today. I tried to forget about the bad holes and just move on. I knew I'd have a couple of bad holes, I just didn't want them to affect my score," said Toondarack, whose sophomore sister Linsey, a South Elgin student, just missed the cut with a 98.

Also qualifying for the Storm were junior Brynn Warrick with a 94 and junior Teagan Pompa with a 97.

Batavia also qualified three golfers for the sectional round - sophomore Madison McCoy (84), senior Rebecca Hasemann (89) and junior Samantha Baumann (94).

  St. Charles East's Rose Bundy, on the fourth fairway Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Batavia's Rebecca Hasemann, watches her shot on the fifth tee Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Darby Lillibridge, on the sixth tee Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  South Elgin's Kristie Toondarack, tries a little body english to help her ball in the hole on the 16th green Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Lake Park's Nicole Hansen, watches her shot on the 17th tee Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Burlington Central's Josie Kurosky, on the 17th fairway Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Glenbard North's Alex Baertschi, chips on the 17th green Wednesday during the Class AA Burlington Central girls golf regional at the Sycamore Park District Golf Course. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
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