Tiger Golfers Roll On To Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Bob Turner was a worried man yesterday, especially from noon to one.
For starters, golf scores were rolling in, and he was about to learn his team had shot a 205 on the front nine at Rozella Ford. They hadn't been above 200 since mid-August on their home course, and here in Monday's sectional, they were picking the worst time to regress.
If Turner wanted to worry even more, all he had to do was look at the scores of two East Noble players. East Noble's top two golfers, Sarah Henney and Natalie Cook, shot a combined 81 after nine holes. Warsaw's top two, Tricia Suchecki and Amy Landis, shot a combined 105.
But after 3 p.m., Turner was a relaxed man who finally breathed a sigh of relief. The goal is to be in the top three teams, and his team easily made it.
Whatever went wrong with the Tigers on the front nine, they corrected their mistakes on the back nine, where they shot a 190. They finished with a 398, good for second place. East Noble won with a 386, while Columbia City was third with a 410. The top three teams advance to the Huntington Regional.
"The teams we thought would advance did advance," Turner said. "East Noble, we spotted them 24 strokes after two individuals. We got it down to nine or 10 at the turn, and our kids played well on the back nine. They went 205 on the front and 190 on the back. They could have laid over and died. But they came back.
"Second place, we're disappointed for the girls. But at this point, second place looks pretty good when two hours ago things were kind of gray, like the sky."
Leading Warsaw's charge was No. 3 golfer Julie Arnold. Arnold was the only Tiger who shot less than 50 on the front nine (48), and she followed that with a 45 on the back nine to pace the Tigers with a 93. Her 93 was the third-best score in the tournament, following Henney (85) and Cook (90).
Warsaw's Brooke Westover added a 47 on the back nine, and Tricia Suchecki had a 48. Amy Landis shot a 50.
"Julie Arnold played exceptionally well on the back," Turner said. "A 48 and a 45 for a 93, I'm real pleased with that. I know she's had the capability of doing that. She's been close a few times, but her last match at her home golf course as a senior, that's just a nice thing to have happen to her.
"I thought Brooke Westover played well on the back."
The difference in the match, Turner said, came down to East Noble's No. 4 golfer, Heather Hays. Hays shot a 62 on the front nine and followed that with a 49 on the back nine. If she shoots in the 60s, Warsaw probably wins the team title.
"There's the tale of the tape," Turner said. "She got pounded around on the front nine, but she delivered the knockout punch on the back nine. It's kind of like a heavyweight fight. She may have been losing the match, but she had a knockout in the 10th round with a 49.
"If I were her coach, I'd be buying her dinner tonight. I thought she would shoot another 60. For her to go 49, there's the match."
Turner attributed his team's slow start to jangled nerves, which he believes he would have had if not for the 190.
"We shot 190 to come back, so I feel pretty good," he said. "If we would have shot really poor and barely gotten out or not gotten out, that may make you feel pretty upset. They have a little grit. They came back when they had to.
"You play a different in the tournament. You grip a little tighter, swallow a little different. I think it was nerves and not used to playing the early morning hours. But we got it together.
"I'm happy with what they did today, but I know they're a little disappointed. They'll get over it after we eat supper tonight. Arnold got third place, so she had a good tournament."
Manchester placed fourth with a 419. Heidi Wieland shot a 95 to lead the Squires, while Katie Parker shot a 100. Wawasee shot a 434 to place fifth. Kari Wortinger's 94 led the Warriors. Tippecanoe Valley placed seventh with a 457. Kara Tucker shot a 96 to lead Valley. Whitko was last with a 482, and the Wildcats were led by Cari Ostrom's 117.
Wortinger, Wieland and Tucker advance to the regional in the individual portion of the tournament.
Warsaw plays in the regional Saturday at LaFontaine Golf Club in Huntington.
"That regional is extremely tough," Turner said. "You have Carroll (Allen), Bishop Dwenger, probably Snider, Huntington North ... you're looking at extremely talented teams. We're going to go there and just see what we can do.
"You never know. Weird things happen. Somebody gets DQ'd, somebody doesn't play, or one of our girls plays very well. We'll practice over there probably Weds or Thurs. We'll just make this last week or two a great time."
EAST NOBLE 386, WARSAW 398, COLUMBIA CITY 410, MANCHESTER 419, WAWASEE 434, WEST NOBLE 453, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 457, WHITKO 482
East Noble - Ann Bruce 63-59 122, Heather Hays 62-49 111, Janessa Mast 53-47 100, Sarah Henney 39-46 85, Natalie Cook 42-48 90
Warsaw - Tricia Suchecki 51-48 99, Amy Landis 54-50 104, Julie Arnold 48-45 93, Brooke Westover 55-47 102, Ashley Cooper 52-53 105
Columbia City - Brooke 49-46 95, Mann 49-45 94, Phegley 55-54 109, Spreen 58-54 112, Reece 57-61 118
Manchester - Heidi Wieland 46-49 95, Katie Parker 47-53 100, Tashia Cox 57-59 116, Demara Knight 56-55 111, Jodee Ruppel 60-53 113
Wawasee - Kari Wortinger 45-49 94, Julia Wolfe 55-55 110, Jennifer Light 57-55 112, Carly Beer 61-57 118, Megan King 57-66 123
West Noble - Foster 49-49 98, Laird 56-48 104, Dragoo 60-67 127, Stover 69-55 124
Tippecanoe Valley - Kara Tucker 46-50 96, Brenda Rose 57-56 113, Ginger Ervin 72-73 145, Mary Gast 68-57 125, Wendy Tilden 60-63 123
Whitko - Melissa Sands 55-63 118, Cari Ostrom 61-56 117, Brianna Waybright 63-66 129, Tina Osborn 67-51 118 [[In-content Ad]]
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Bob Turner was a worried man yesterday, especially from noon to one.
For starters, golf scores were rolling in, and he was about to learn his team had shot a 205 on the front nine at Rozella Ford. They hadn't been above 200 since mid-August on their home course, and here in Monday's sectional, they were picking the worst time to regress.
If Turner wanted to worry even more, all he had to do was look at the scores of two East Noble players. East Noble's top two golfers, Sarah Henney and Natalie Cook, shot a combined 81 after nine holes. Warsaw's top two, Tricia Suchecki and Amy Landis, shot a combined 105.
But after 3 p.m., Turner was a relaxed man who finally breathed a sigh of relief. The goal is to be in the top three teams, and his team easily made it.
Whatever went wrong with the Tigers on the front nine, they corrected their mistakes on the back nine, where they shot a 190. They finished with a 398, good for second place. East Noble won with a 386, while Columbia City was third with a 410. The top three teams advance to the Huntington Regional.
"The teams we thought would advance did advance," Turner said. "East Noble, we spotted them 24 strokes after two individuals. We got it down to nine or 10 at the turn, and our kids played well on the back nine. They went 205 on the front and 190 on the back. They could have laid over and died. But they came back.
"Second place, we're disappointed for the girls. But at this point, second place looks pretty good when two hours ago things were kind of gray, like the sky."
Leading Warsaw's charge was No. 3 golfer Julie Arnold. Arnold was the only Tiger who shot less than 50 on the front nine (48), and she followed that with a 45 on the back nine to pace the Tigers with a 93. Her 93 was the third-best score in the tournament, following Henney (85) and Cook (90).
Warsaw's Brooke Westover added a 47 on the back nine, and Tricia Suchecki had a 48. Amy Landis shot a 50.
"Julie Arnold played exceptionally well on the back," Turner said. "A 48 and a 45 for a 93, I'm real pleased with that. I know she's had the capability of doing that. She's been close a few times, but her last match at her home golf course as a senior, that's just a nice thing to have happen to her.
"I thought Brooke Westover played well on the back."
The difference in the match, Turner said, came down to East Noble's No. 4 golfer, Heather Hays. Hays shot a 62 on the front nine and followed that with a 49 on the back nine. If she shoots in the 60s, Warsaw probably wins the team title.
"There's the tale of the tape," Turner said. "She got pounded around on the front nine, but she delivered the knockout punch on the back nine. It's kind of like a heavyweight fight. She may have been losing the match, but she had a knockout in the 10th round with a 49.
"If I were her coach, I'd be buying her dinner tonight. I thought she would shoot another 60. For her to go 49, there's the match."
Turner attributed his team's slow start to jangled nerves, which he believes he would have had if not for the 190.
"We shot 190 to come back, so I feel pretty good," he said. "If we would have shot really poor and barely gotten out or not gotten out, that may make you feel pretty upset. They have a little grit. They came back when they had to.
"You play a different in the tournament. You grip a little tighter, swallow a little different. I think it was nerves and not used to playing the early morning hours. But we got it together.
"I'm happy with what they did today, but I know they're a little disappointed. They'll get over it after we eat supper tonight. Arnold got third place, so she had a good tournament."
Manchester placed fourth with a 419. Heidi Wieland shot a 95 to lead the Squires, while Katie Parker shot a 100. Wawasee shot a 434 to place fifth. Kari Wortinger's 94 led the Warriors. Tippecanoe Valley placed seventh with a 457. Kara Tucker shot a 96 to lead Valley. Whitko was last with a 482, and the Wildcats were led by Cari Ostrom's 117.
Wortinger, Wieland and Tucker advance to the regional in the individual portion of the tournament.
Warsaw plays in the regional Saturday at LaFontaine Golf Club in Huntington.
"That regional is extremely tough," Turner said. "You have Carroll (Allen), Bishop Dwenger, probably Snider, Huntington North ... you're looking at extremely talented teams. We're going to go there and just see what we can do.
"You never know. Weird things happen. Somebody gets DQ'd, somebody doesn't play, or one of our girls plays very well. We'll practice over there probably Weds or Thurs. We'll just make this last week or two a great time."
EAST NOBLE 386, WARSAW 398, COLUMBIA CITY 410, MANCHESTER 419, WAWASEE 434, WEST NOBLE 453, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 457, WHITKO 482
East Noble - Ann Bruce 63-59 122, Heather Hays 62-49 111, Janessa Mast 53-47 100, Sarah Henney 39-46 85, Natalie Cook 42-48 90
Warsaw - Tricia Suchecki 51-48 99, Amy Landis 54-50 104, Julie Arnold 48-45 93, Brooke Westover 55-47 102, Ashley Cooper 52-53 105
Columbia City - Brooke 49-46 95, Mann 49-45 94, Phegley 55-54 109, Spreen 58-54 112, Reece 57-61 118
Manchester - Heidi Wieland 46-49 95, Katie Parker 47-53 100, Tashia Cox 57-59 116, Demara Knight 56-55 111, Jodee Ruppel 60-53 113
Wawasee - Kari Wortinger 45-49 94, Julia Wolfe 55-55 110, Jennifer Light 57-55 112, Carly Beer 61-57 118, Megan King 57-66 123
West Noble - Foster 49-49 98, Laird 56-48 104, Dragoo 60-67 127, Stover 69-55 124
Tippecanoe Valley - Kara Tucker 46-50 96, Brenda Rose 57-56 113, Ginger Ervin 72-73 145, Mary Gast 68-57 125, Wendy Tilden 60-63 123
Whitko - Melissa Sands 55-63 118, Cari Ostrom 61-56 117, Brianna Waybright 63-66 129, Tina Osborn 67-51 118 [[In-content Ad]]