Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011

Falcons take Tri-Nine girls golf

Green Hope tops Middle Creek

A Green Hope team that relied on balance and consistency all year claimed first place in the season's final Tri-Nine girls golf match of the regular season Wednesday at Bentwinds Country Club in Fuquay-Varina.

The Falcons won the regular season conference championship despite playing without freshman Nicolette Donovan, who had been the team's top performer. Donovan moved to Florida with her family just before Wednesday's conference final.

"I can't tell you how proud I am," Green Hope coach Donna Lerner said. "It's a big deal, a very big deal. Today was extra-special because we had lost an integral player in Nicollete Donovan. The girls played as a unit all season and they honored and embraced each other. And at the same time, they tried to beat each other, which was wonderful."

Throughout the season, the Falcons rarely fielded the top individual, but Green Hope won the Tri-Nine regular season championship because it finished among the top three in team standings in every conference match.

Wednesday's final was no different. Sarah Bae (34) of Athens Drive, Catherine Ashworth (37) of Fuquay-Varina and Mackenzie Williams (39) of Middle Creek were the top three individual finishers. But Green Hope wrapped up the regular season title by edging Middle Creek 122-125 on strong performances by Maddie Lee (40), Maddi MacClurg (41) and Sophie Riegel (41).

Players and coaches for both Green Hope and Middle Creek suspected that the conference championship would be decided the final day of the regular season.

"It was a very close race all year," said Lerner, whose team entered play Wednesday in first place by two points. "All season long (Middle Creek coach) Robbie Wray and I knew that our teams had the ability to push one another and we encouraged that. We spoke to each other this week before the match and we wished each other well. Whatever was going to be was going to be."

The Mustangs and Falcons ended the season with three first-place finishes each, but along with Green Hope's strong finish Wednesday, it was a fourth-place finish by Middle Creek in the season's second-to-last match that proved to be the difference.

The Mustangs were led Wednesday by a season-best score of 39 from Mackenzie Williams. Betsy Dohrer and Kennedy Smith both shot 43's for Middle Creek, which finished in second on the afternoon and for the season.

Among the individuals, the dominance by Bae and Ashworth in the season's final match should have come as no surprise. Either one or the other took first place in all but one regular-season match. Bae was ineligible for both all-conference and conference player of the year honors, because she missed the second and third matches of the season. Donovan missed the final match and was also ineligible for all-conference honors.

Ashworth, a freshman at Fuquay-Varina, finished the season as the conference's top performer in terms of strokes-per-nine-hole average, with 36.625. Following her in second place was Kennedy Smith of Middle Creek, who averaged 38.75. Hilary Gugig of Athens Drive and Britney Smith of Middle Creek both averaged 39.25 to tie for third place.