Girls golf: Vernon Hills' Schulman looks like sure thing
Vernon Hills freshman Lexi Schulman may be new to high school golf, but she's no stranger to those who follow youth golf in the state.
Cougars coach Steve Downey says Schulman is already considered one of the top players in Illinois. This summer she placed sixth in the Illinois State Girls Junior Amateur and won the equally prestigious Chick Evans Junior Amateur.
Schulman started her prep career by placing second in the 12-team Hersey invite last Saturday with a 69.
"The goal is for Lexi to win or place high in our remaining tournaments this season along with being the medalist in all or most of our dual matches," Downey said. "Ultimately, the goal is for Lexi to place high in the Class 2A state tournament in October."
Downey's veteran golfers are seniors Abby Finerty and Molly King, junior Mira Singh and sophomore Irene Im.
Mundelein's Shanahan shines: Mundelein sophomore Kellie Shanahan is off to a strong start in her second varsity campaign. She shot an 83, good for eighth out of 90 golfers, to lead the Mustangs to third place out of 16 teams in the D117 invite at Saturday.
Hogan back to lead Lake Zurich: Coming off a second-place finish in the NSC meet last fall, Lake Zurich returns junior Bryana Hogan and four other golfers. Hogan, who was third in the NSC meet, is playing her third season on varsity.
A promising sophomore group includes Kiana Pouyat (12th in NSC), Abby Watt, Emily Kaminsky, Emma Wilkerson, Sarah Frosch, Cassidy Kalamaras and Amanda Klunder. The Bears' seniors are Alyson Kee, Debby Chung, Grace Lambertsen, Haley Cranstoun and Haley Czabaj.
LZ's newcomers include sophomore Jenna Heffernan, juniors Lilliana Perez and Grace Lightfoot, and freshmen Regan Doherty and Jane Yu.
"Many sophomores took lessons and played in tournaments over the summer and are ready to play on varsity," said Mel Fox, who's in her 18th season as LZ's coach. "As always, my emphasis is on the short game."
Libertyville starts short-handed: Libertyville returns senior captain Payton DeBruler (15th in NSC), senior Alex Scrogham and sophomore Lily McAuliffe. Scrogham, the Wildcats' projected No. 2, is out due to injury. The Wildcats' newcomers are seniors Ella Zombolo and Lexie Hill, juniors Emma Fields, Lily Hieronymus, Ella Marsden and Courtney Simpson, and sophomore Addison Clark.
"The goals are to improve each day and to show return on our investments by lowering our scores," Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. "We hope to be playing our best in the second half of the season. Payton, Lily and Alex have a real shot at advancement come playoff time."
Lakes looks young: First-year Lakes coach Kevin Shifley inherits a team with no seniors and only a pair of returning juniors in Maya Chavez and Allison Kennedy. The Eagles' sophomores include Kamryn Adams, Kaliey Gara, Madison Kobeski and Olivia Langille. Gia Memenga and McKenna are freshmen.
"We are a young team, but we have incredible team chemistry and we are confident this will allow us to grow and improve over the season," Shifley said. "Allison Kennedy and Maya Chavez are both strong and consistent players who have put in a lot of work over the off-season. Freshman McKenna Sosnowski has improved a ton since summer camp and is competing for a spot on varsity. All of this is built on our team culture, supporting one another, staying positive and always moving forward."
Grayslake optimistic: Four-year varsity golfer Morgan Atwell leads an experienced Grayslake co-op squad. Janie Schulz, Cara DeLacluyse and Megan Eppel are other seniors, and Ella Jensen returns after missing her sophomore season due to a knee injury.
Coach Scott Ewen's newcomers are senior Annie Robins, junior Kathryn Morris and sophomore Alex McGowan.
"I think we can win the NLCC if our girls play to their ability," Ewen said. "We have seniors with multiple years of varsity experience. And we are excited to get Ella Jensen back. She was one of our top golfers as a freshman two years ago. Advancing golfers past regionals is possible too, but our main focus is our conference matches."