When coaches of the local girls golf teams had a chance to look toward the future after last season, most of them had to be smiling from ear to ear. If there are two things that those coaches seem to have plenty of this year, it may well be experience and talent.

Wawasee's Kari Wortinger, Manchester's Katie Parker and Warsaw's Brooke Westover all had good seasons. Wortinger advanced to the state meet, and Parker advanced to the regional, both as individuals. Westover played in the No. 1 spot for the Tigers and went to the regional with her team.

But those three are gone. What remains is a large group of experienced golfers and golf teams. Valley, Whitko and NorthWood return every letterwinner from last year. Wawasee and Warsaw lost just one letterwinner each, and Manchester has a strong nucleus back.

Valley head coach Roger Moriarty can look forward to this season while still concentrating on the future. He returns senior Brenda Rose and four juniors behind her.

"Brenda's looking forward to her senior year," Moriarty said. "This will be her third year as one of our leaders, and she's a real strong player. She's improved the most in the mental aspect. She can finesse the game more."

Although Whitko has never had a real strong program, the Wildcats will look toward senior Jodi Walters for leadership. Like Moriarty, Whitko coach Mike Cox can look to the future with four out of the next five golfers in the lineup being underclassmen.

Cox called Walters "an absolute sweetheart" and gave examples of her attitude, like the time she took off her shoes and waded through water to retrieve Westover's golf ball. That would be a Whitko kid helping out a Warsaw kid. Shocking.

NorthWood, Warsaw and Concord could well battle for second in the Northern Lakes Conference behind perennial-favorite Goshen. The Panthers return everyone from a 14-3 squad. Their lineup should include three seniors and two juniors, of which Michelle Taylor will play in the No. 1 spot.

"She shows good leadership," head coach and father Jay Taylor said. "She's worked hard all summer long and her putting is coming along. She's shown improvement already this year."

Warsaw loses just Westover from a 15-2 team that placed second at the sectional. Despite the apparent experience, however, Turner will turn to four sophomores to provide depth. Senior Ashley Cooper is one of just two seniors, along with Leslie Daniels, and will be looked upon to provide the steadying influence.

"She's a good team leader who consistently shoots in the mid 40's," Turner said.

Both Manchester and Wawasee will be performing under first-year coaches. Keri Nichols, who also took the girls basketball job at Manchester, will also coach the girls golf team. Wawasee turns the reigns over to Tom Littlefield, who takes over for Bill Lantz.

Both teams return a large portion of last year's team. The Squires will return sophomore Dorey Bungitak, who should play in the No. 1 spot this year. Bungitak went to the regional round last year as an individual, along with teammate Katie Parker.

Wawasee, of course, lost Wortinger from a team that struggled to get low scores from the other four golfers in the lineup. However, the Warriors will look for a more even distribution of scoring among the top five to improve on last year's 6-17 record.

Area Prep Golf Capsules

Warsaw

Home course - Rozella Ford

Head coach - Bob Turner, 10th season

1997 - 15-2 record, second in sectional

Key losses - Brooke Westover

Probable lineup - Ashley Cooper (sr.), Kari Wrobel (soph.), Tosha Nance (soph.), April Turner (jr.)

Other members - Laura Reed (soph.), Leslie Daniels (sr.), Jaci Thallemer (soph.), Kaci Jones (jr.)

Outlook - With just one graduate from last year's 15-2 squad, Turner can expect to have a similar record to last year's. However, if the youth and inexperience of a squad featuring four sophomores shows up, it could be a bit rockier for the Tigers.

Turner - "We'll probably start slow because we're young and inexperienced. We hope to do well in the (Northern Lakes) conference and get out of our sectional and go from there. We're not in the same league as Goshen, but on any given day, someone can shoot a great score, and who knows?"

Tippecanoe Valley

Home course - Rozella Ford

Head coach - Roger Moriarty, 7th season

1997 - 7-11 record, after forfeiting a number of matches early in season

Key losses - none

Probable lineup - Brenda Rose (sr.), Wendy Tilden (jr.), Erica Pontious (jr.), Mary Gast (jr.), Ginger Ervin (jr.)

Other members - Terra Weaver (jr.), Maggie Rock (so.), Natisha Beam (sr.)

Outlook - With every member of last year's team back, the Vikings have plenty of experience. Brenda Rose could be one of top golfers in the area on one of the deepest teams. Terra Weaver, who is not projected to start at this point, played varsity last year several times and has the experience to step in and not skip a beat.

Moriarty - "Our ability as a team will come from any improvement made by Tilden, Pontious, Weaver, Ervin and Gast. Our goal is to get four girls who can shoot between 45 and 50 every time out, and I think we can have that. I'm looking for the girls to mature more this year."

Whitko

Home course - Sycamore

Head coach - Mike Cox

1997 - Approximately .500 record

Key losses - none

Probable lineup - Jodi Walters (sr.), Kelli Walters (so.), Mariah Krider (jr.), Sheena Stewart (jr.), DeAnna Metler (sr.)

Other members - Kara Herbst

Outlook - With every starter returning, Cox can look for improvement out of his squad. He expects to have a number of new golfers on his team that played at the middle school level last year or played in other varsity sports during the fall.

Cox - "We've been trying to build a program. Right now, the girls enjoy playing golf, but they don't take it too seriously, so I coach that way. Someday, I'd like to have five girls that want to win the state title, and when that happens, then I'll coach differently."

Wawasee

Home course - South Shore

Head coach - Tom Littlefield, 1st season

1997 - 6-17 record

Key losses - Kari Wortinger

Probable lineup - N/A

Other members - N/A

Outlook - After losing state-qualifier Kari Wortinger, Wawasee will suffer from the loss of not only talent, but also leadership. However, first-year coach Tom Littlefield has worked to get about 15 girls out for tryouts and is hoping to build the program up.

Littlefield - "I've tried to do some recruiting and get some more kids involved with the team. You're put in a tight spot when you have 14 or 15 kids and three practices to decide on your team. We need more of a team effort this year instead of relying on just one player, and the key is to get more kids some varsity experience."

NorthWood

Home course - McCormick Creek

Head coach - Jay Taylor, 3rd season

1997 - 14-3 record, fourth place at sectional

Key losses - none

Probable lineup - Michelle Taylor (sr.), Mandy Gerber (sr.), Jill VanBruaene (jr.), Sarah Anderson (sr.), Lindsay Detwiler (jr.)

Other members - Cori Neff (jr.)

Outlook - After going 14-3 last year with a lineup of sophomores and juniors, the Panthers return all of their top six golfers. That could translate into a battle for second place with Concord and Warsaw in the tough Northern Lakes Conference behind conference favorite Goshen.

Taylor - "My expectations are quite high with all our returning lettermen. We've gained experience over the last couple of years. We'd like to advance in the postseason, and we'll have to really be on top of our game (to challenge for second in the NLC)."

Manchester

Home course - Sycamore

Head coach - Keri Nichols, 1st season

1997 season - Dorey Bungitak and Katie Parker advanced to regional

Key losses - Katie Parker, Jodee Ruppel

Probable lineup - Dorey Bungitak, Kasha Wieland, DeMara Knight

Outlook - After a successful season last year, Manchester will look to improve on it. Dorey Bungitak, a sophomore, has the experience of playing in the regional last year as an individual and will provide a strong nucleus for the team.

Nichols - "Golf is an individual sport and, as a coach, you're just there to help and give a little guidance. By the time the athletes are in high school, they already have their own style. We're returning a strong nucleus of players and we're looking to move forward with this program." [[In-content Ad]]