Girls golf: Stevenson, Vernon Hills' Schulman tops at Libertyville regional
Lexi Schulman had a round she never expected to see in the Class 2A Libertyville girls golf regional at Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Great Lakes on Thursday.
The Vernon Hills junior started off on the back nine and posted a disappointing 41. But on the front side, she had a couple of holes that turned her round the other way.
Schulman posted a 33 over the last nine to finish with a 2-over medalist round of 74 on the 5,006-yard course. She also made an eagle on the second hole that played 255 yards, as she sent her second shot on the green and it found the bottom of the cup. Then, she added a birdie on the eighth hole that was a par 5.
"I knew the back nine would be hard for everyone," Schulman said. "So, the hard nine is over and the easy nine is coming up. Hopefully, shoot low even par or under. On my 11th hole (second), I holed out from 70 yards out for an eagle. That turned things around pretty fast. It was a pretty big shot and I was thinking what is this round. I really was so confused at that point. I had a shot still and wasn't completely out of it. On the eighth hole, I had about a 10-footer downhill and made that. It's pretty good to win one of these, because it's been a while. I've always been in the hunt."
Stevenson was the top team with a 311 and won the regional championship. The Patriots won the state title in 2019.
"I have mixed emotions with our score," Stevenson coach Emma Degen said. "We had some kids that didn't have their best day. We'll get these bad days out of the way and hopefully we will have a good sectional."
Emily Duan and Chelsea She led the Patriots with 76s. Megan Lee (79) and Allie Santos (80) also scored.
Highland Park (335) and Deerfield (339) were the other two teams that advanced to the Belvidere sectional at Timber Pointe Golf Club in Poplar Grove on Monday.
Wauconda's Liv Romer was one of the individuals that advanced outside the qualifying teams with an 85. Romer was competing in her first meet this season after dealing with an ACL injury suffered in May playing softball.
"I'm very excited to get a chance to play. I went to the range after I was cleared on Wednesday," said Romer, who reached the sectional the last two years. "I was happy with the way I played, even though I haven't played in forever. I wasn't expecting to do very well. It was a big surprise to be in the sectional. I just stayed in my own head. My leg didn't feel like 100 percent. I just told myself to stay focused shot by shot."
Others that advanced were Anna Lee (78) from Vernon Hills, Lake Forest's Zofia Olszeloski (84), Kate Roberts (85) of Carmel and Emily Kaminsky (85) of Lake Zurich.
"My putting was good, while I had other areas of my game that were up and down," Kaminsky said. "I wanted to keep it at a level score that I can shoot. My goal for the day was 83 or 84."
Mundelein's Kellie Shanahan had an 86, while Lake Forest's Lucy Rogers, Lake Zurich's Abby Watt and Audrey Weadick of Libertyville each had 87s.
"I think we all got through well and everybody here did great," Shanahan said. "I was nervous at first. I just have learned to keep my nerves away and just focus on the game to get through the round."
Antioch regional:
Warren won the team championship at Fox Lake Country Club with a 384. Prairie Ridge (391) and Grant (403) also qualified to the Belvidere sectional.
Junior Ally Badgley and junior Alaina Goeden led Warren with 94s, while the Blue Devils also counted a 95 from junior Gracie Haupt and a 101 from junior Josie Leibfried.
Grant was led by a 93 from senior Cara Pederson. Junior Abbi Themanson had a 99 for the Bulldogs, who also counted a 103 from senior Audrey Mazur and a 108 from sophomore Savannah Dickson.
Grayslake Central's Alex McGowan finished second with a 91.