Girls golf: St. Charles North falls short of trophy; Lyne ties for runner-up

FORSYTH - Beginning with its season opener at the Conant Early Bird, St. Charles North has been producing remarkable team results on the golf course this season.

But on the final day of the campaign Saturday at the Class AA girls state tournament at Hickory Point, the North Stars' season-long magic was not enough to produce a trophy.

The conference, regional and sectional champion North Stars fell 4 shots shy of two-time defending champion Hinsdale Central, 613-617, for third place after a second-round 308.

Wheaton Warrenville South captured its first girls team sport state championship of any kind with a 605-612 triumph over Barrington.

"Overall, I think it was a pretty good week," said St. Charles North sophomore Megan Furtney, who was a combined 10-under par in winning the Upstate Eight Conference and Burlington Central regional titles.

Furtney, fifth as a freshman last year, was in ninth place all by herself after a 1-over par 73 to augment a first-day 75.

After making the turn in level-par 36, Furtney closed with a flourish with a birdie on No. 16 and remarkable par save on 17 after taking a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie.

"I have been in this position before," Furtney said of her need to scramble. "It was one of those moments where I knew I couldn't miss (the 14-foot putt for par on No. 17)."

Kate Lillie closed out her three-time state-qualifying career with the North Stars with a final-round 77.

The Minnesota-bound senior tied for 17th with Naperville North No. 1 player AJ Barr.

"It's a little disappointing (not to get a team trophy)," Lillie said. "I know I could have played better. There were some really good teams that played really well this weekend. We played, I think, really well as a team. We were really consistent."

Irish Whalen returned from maternity leave to guide the North Stars.

"(The girls) put in two really good rounds," the St. Charles North coach said. "We're disappointed not to bring home some hardware. Some other teams got some birdies to drop."

Also making a second straight state appearance, St. Charles East was unable to better its first-day position.

The Saints shot an almost identical 334 on Saturday to finish in 12th place.

"Even though we didn't play like we wanted to, I'm proud of the girls for how hard they have worked in the last year," St. Charles East coach Rod Osborne said.

Three-time state qualifier Nicole Jordan was the Saints' top player for the weekend with rounds of 79 and 82.

Rose Bundy eagled the par-5 second hole to boost her team-best Saturday round of 81.

"Overall, I thought I played pretty well," Jordan said. "I just had a couple of hiccups."

The individual tournament was dominated by underclassmen.

Crystal Lake sophomore Grace Curran, one of five players tied for the overnight lead at 71, fired a 70 to defeat Molly Lyne and Lauren Beaudreau from Cary-Grove and Benet, respectively.

Lyne and Beaudreau, a freshman and sophomore, were both leading the tournament until double bogey came into play on the diabolically tough first par 3 on the back nine.

"Coming in, I was playing really well," said Lyne, a member of the Crystal Lake Central co-op team. "I knew if I played like I have been playing, I would place high. I don't regret anything I did. My front nine is what got me going."

Jacobs' Stephanie Fiorentino had her career came to an end but not before shaving her first-round score by almost double digits.

"My scores were a lot higher than usual, but I still had a lot of fun," Fiorentino said.

Geneva junior Darby Lillibridge also had a better final round to her season.