VanBruaene Golfs With Heavy Heart
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
After Jill VanBruaene shot a 51 on the front nine holes of Saturday's Warsaw Sectional, no one expected her to qualify for the individual regional next week. However, she fought back on the back nine to score a 43 to finish the day with a 94 to place third and earn a trip to the Huntington Regional.
Since VanBruaene comes from a family with a tradition of golfing, one should not be surprised that she golfed well in the sectional. What makes VanBruaene's story more interesting is the fact that her grandfather died just last week while on the golf course.
"The funeral was yesterday (Friday) so this was a hard week for her," said Joyce VanBruaene, Jill's mother. "That makes this even more sweet for her to go on to the regional. It was definitely not expected after she shot a 51 on the front nine."
"VanBruaene had a great back nine," said NorthWood coach Jay Taylor. "She hit the fairways, putted well and started making pars. She never gave up and kept plugging away. She's had a tough week so this is a special day for her."
VanBruaene will be joined at the regional by Manchester's Dorey Bungitak and Plymouth's Gretchen Heiden. Bungitak led the individual qualifiers with a 91 on the day.
"We're always happy when we get a player out of the sectional," said Manchester coach Keri Nichols. "It's good to get Dorey out so she can play another week. Earlier this year she shot an 86 at Norwood (the site of the regional) so she is familiar with the course. I feel confident that she will play well there."
Warsaw advanced in the team competition as the top four golfers combined for a total score of 390, good enough for second place and a trip to the regional.
"This morning there was a big tournament, so there were some difficult pin placements," said Warsaw coach Bob Turner. "The weather has been very dry so the greens were exceptionally tough to putt on. I think that's what separated the better teams from those who failed to advance."
The Tigers defeated Columbia City and Plymouth in the sectional after falling to both those teams in the regular season. Warsaw beat Columbia City, the third place team, by just two strokes.
"Columbia City beat us in the regular season," said Turner. "So did Plymouth. But we will have our work cut out for us next week. Huntington has a loaded regional. Marion, Goshen and CGA are really loaded, but we're there. That's the main thing."
One of the reasons Warsaw is there is Lara Reed. Reed led the Tigers with a 96 on the day.
"Our success hinged around Lara Reed today," said Turner. "She has really stepped up this year, especially in the past few weeks. She is very competitive. Lara is a two-sport athlete, and that is really showing right now."
Manchester finished the day with a 424 to place fifth while Wawasee placed seventh with a 435. Carrie Alles led the Warriors with a 99.
"I thought our team did very well," said Wawasee coach Scott DeHart. "We have improved so much since the beginning of the year. Carrie Alles played her best golf of the year. I think we have a bright future. We have no seniors so we'll have everyone back next year."
NorthWood finished seventh while Valley placed eighth with a 461. Until NorthWood's VanBruaene came in with her 94, Ginger Ervin was prepared to defend her 98 score in a playoff.
"Ginger shot her season low here today," said Roger Moriarty. "We did not get excellent play out of most of the girls today, but we're still not completely healed from illness and injury earlier in the season.
"The quality of girls golf in this area has improved tremendously."
The Warsaw team along with Bungitak and VanBruaene will travel to Norwood Golf Course in Huntington Saturday for the IHSAA regional competition.
GIRLS GIRLS GOLF SECTIONAL
1. Culver Girls Academy 352, 2. Warsaw 390, 3. Columbia City 392, 4. Plymouth 405, 5. Manchester 424, 6. Wawasee 435, 7. NorthWood 442, 8. Tippecanoe Valley 461, 9. Whitko 556.
Warsaw scores (390) -ÊKerri Wrobel 50-47-97, April Turner 49-48-97, Tosha Nance 49-51-100, Jaci Thallemer 57-49-106, Lara Reed 53-43-96.
Manchester scores (424) -ÊDorey Bungitak 45-46-91, Miriel Speicher 50-51-101, Christina Evans 65-52-117, Alexis Leininger 65-62-127, Lindsey Music 57-58-115.
Wawasee scores (435) -ÊAshley Ward 58-54-112, Ashley Bell 58-57-115, ReBecca Stoelting 58-59-117, Carrie Alles 49-50-99, Aimee Niles 56-53-109.
NorthWood scores (442) -ÊJill VanBruaene 51-43-94, Cori Neff 60-55-115, April Flickinger 57-54-111, Katie Miller 60-62-122, Natalie Nunemaker 67-60-127.
Tippecanoe Valley scores (461) -ÊKendra Koser 62-57-119, Ginger Ervin 50-48-98, Erica Pontious 58-58-116, Maggie Rock 62-72-134, Terra Weaver 61-67-128.
Whitko scores (556) -ÊCarla Herbst 75-86-161, Ashley Schrader 78-70-148, Miranda Krider 63-65-128, Beth Truman 77-68-145, Marla Rowland 68-67-135.
Team Qualifiers -ÊCulver Girls Academy (352), Warsaw (390), Columbia City (392).
Individual Qualifiers -ÊDorey Bungitak (Manchester), Gretchen Heiden (Plymouth), Jill VanBruaene (NorthWood). [[In-content Ad]]
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After Jill VanBruaene shot a 51 on the front nine holes of Saturday's Warsaw Sectional, no one expected her to qualify for the individual regional next week. However, she fought back on the back nine to score a 43 to finish the day with a 94 to place third and earn a trip to the Huntington Regional.
Since VanBruaene comes from a family with a tradition of golfing, one should not be surprised that she golfed well in the sectional. What makes VanBruaene's story more interesting is the fact that her grandfather died just last week while on the golf course.
"The funeral was yesterday (Friday) so this was a hard week for her," said Joyce VanBruaene, Jill's mother. "That makes this even more sweet for her to go on to the regional. It was definitely not expected after she shot a 51 on the front nine."
"VanBruaene had a great back nine," said NorthWood coach Jay Taylor. "She hit the fairways, putted well and started making pars. She never gave up and kept plugging away. She's had a tough week so this is a special day for her."
VanBruaene will be joined at the regional by Manchester's Dorey Bungitak and Plymouth's Gretchen Heiden. Bungitak led the individual qualifiers with a 91 on the day.
"We're always happy when we get a player out of the sectional," said Manchester coach Keri Nichols. "It's good to get Dorey out so she can play another week. Earlier this year she shot an 86 at Norwood (the site of the regional) so she is familiar with the course. I feel confident that she will play well there."
Warsaw advanced in the team competition as the top four golfers combined for a total score of 390, good enough for second place and a trip to the regional.
"This morning there was a big tournament, so there were some difficult pin placements," said Warsaw coach Bob Turner. "The weather has been very dry so the greens were exceptionally tough to putt on. I think that's what separated the better teams from those who failed to advance."
The Tigers defeated Columbia City and Plymouth in the sectional after falling to both those teams in the regular season. Warsaw beat Columbia City, the third place team, by just two strokes.
"Columbia City beat us in the regular season," said Turner. "So did Plymouth. But we will have our work cut out for us next week. Huntington has a loaded regional. Marion, Goshen and CGA are really loaded, but we're there. That's the main thing."
One of the reasons Warsaw is there is Lara Reed. Reed led the Tigers with a 96 on the day.
"Our success hinged around Lara Reed today," said Turner. "She has really stepped up this year, especially in the past few weeks. She is very competitive. Lara is a two-sport athlete, and that is really showing right now."
Manchester finished the day with a 424 to place fifth while Wawasee placed seventh with a 435. Carrie Alles led the Warriors with a 99.
"I thought our team did very well," said Wawasee coach Scott DeHart. "We have improved so much since the beginning of the year. Carrie Alles played her best golf of the year. I think we have a bright future. We have no seniors so we'll have everyone back next year."
NorthWood finished seventh while Valley placed eighth with a 461. Until NorthWood's VanBruaene came in with her 94, Ginger Ervin was prepared to defend her 98 score in a playoff.
"Ginger shot her season low here today," said Roger Moriarty. "We did not get excellent play out of most of the girls today, but we're still not completely healed from illness and injury earlier in the season.
"The quality of girls golf in this area has improved tremendously."
The Warsaw team along with Bungitak and VanBruaene will travel to Norwood Golf Course in Huntington Saturday for the IHSAA regional competition.
GIRLS GIRLS GOLF SECTIONAL
1. Culver Girls Academy 352, 2. Warsaw 390, 3. Columbia City 392, 4. Plymouth 405, 5. Manchester 424, 6. Wawasee 435, 7. NorthWood 442, 8. Tippecanoe Valley 461, 9. Whitko 556.
Warsaw scores (390) -ÊKerri Wrobel 50-47-97, April Turner 49-48-97, Tosha Nance 49-51-100, Jaci Thallemer 57-49-106, Lara Reed 53-43-96.
Manchester scores (424) -ÊDorey Bungitak 45-46-91, Miriel Speicher 50-51-101, Christina Evans 65-52-117, Alexis Leininger 65-62-127, Lindsey Music 57-58-115.
Wawasee scores (435) -ÊAshley Ward 58-54-112, Ashley Bell 58-57-115, ReBecca Stoelting 58-59-117, Carrie Alles 49-50-99, Aimee Niles 56-53-109.
NorthWood scores (442) -ÊJill VanBruaene 51-43-94, Cori Neff 60-55-115, April Flickinger 57-54-111, Katie Miller 60-62-122, Natalie Nunemaker 67-60-127.
Tippecanoe Valley scores (461) -ÊKendra Koser 62-57-119, Ginger Ervin 50-48-98, Erica Pontious 58-58-116, Maggie Rock 62-72-134, Terra Weaver 61-67-128.
Whitko scores (556) -ÊCarla Herbst 75-86-161, Ashley Schrader 78-70-148, Miranda Krider 63-65-128, Beth Truman 77-68-145, Marla Rowland 68-67-135.
Team Qualifiers -ÊCulver Girls Academy (352), Warsaw (390), Columbia City (392).
Individual Qualifiers -ÊDorey Bungitak (Manchester), Gretchen Heiden (Plymouth), Jill VanBruaene (NorthWood). [[In-content Ad]]