Girls' Golf Sectional Saturday

There's no place like home, there's no...

This holds especially true for the Warsaw girls' golf team, which will get a better chance at the sectional title Saturday because the sectional has been moved from the Wawasee Golf Course to Rozella Ford GC, the home of the Tigers, this year.

Gone will be the advantageous rolls on the long, flat fairways that generally gave any team a chance to shoot low scores and usually bunched the teams up at the finish.

"It really changes things these teams that normally play at Wawasee golf course, which is hit the ball and let it run for 300 yards," Warsaw coach Bob Turner said. "At Rozella, you hit the ball and where it stops at is where you landed."

Turner sees the sectional as a three-team race between his Tigers, East Noble and Columbia City.

"There are three teams that are in the running for the sectional (title), and that is Columbia City, East Noble and us," he said. "I think it will come down to East Noble and us. East Noble has shot some great scores, like a 177, but they will be a lot higher on Rozella Ford. I think it will be a dog fight.

"It will depend on who plays well," he said. "They have two girls that are exceptionally good golfers, and we have four or five that can play well. Our golf course will definitely help us. I would be extremely disappointed if we didn't get out. I think we will get out, but I sure would like to win it, especially at our place."

Although Warsaw comes into the sectional with a 12-4 mark, Turner said the Tigers have yet to put things together, Turner said. "We have not played our best round as yet. The law of averages have got to catch up, so our day is yet coming.

"The key to it is to stay away big scores on holes 7, 8, & 9. It has been our nemesis this year," he said. "We always seem to have one girl that takes one high number that keeps us from the low numbers."

Warsaw golfers include Tricia Suchecki, Brooke Westover, Amy Landis, Ashley Cooper and Julie Arnold.

Wawasee will be the hosts of the sectional, although it is being played on Warsaw's home course.

"We have never played on our home course (for a sectional) at Maxwelton anyway," Wawasee coach Bill Lantz said. "It is no different than it has been in the past for us."

Coming off a third-place finish in last weekend's NLC championship, right behind Warsaw, Lantz likes the way his team is playing and feels the same about its chances for a third-place finish and advancement to the Huntington Regional.

"We have been playing well so far," Lantz said. "But I really don't know what that means for the sectional. East Noble and Warsaw are the strongest two teams, but after that..."I think that third spot is pretty much up for anybody to take it."

Lantz sees a score right around 420 needed to take that third spot. Wawasee shot a 425 at Nappanee's McCormick Golf Course. Things could be tougher at Rozella.

"We are playing the best we have played all year." Lantz said. "The kids have surpassed maybe what my expectations were this year because we lost a lot from last year."

Wawasee golfers include Kari Wortinger, Carly Beer, Julia Wolfe, Jennifer Light and Megan King.

Also shooting for that third spot will be Tippecanoe Valley, who enters the sectional with a 10-8 record this year while playing sometimes two or even three freshmen on the varsity.

Tippecanoe Valley has shot around 200 a couple of times the past two weeks, and Valley coach Roger Moriarty sees a score 10 shots around that for each nine would give the Vikings a fighting chance.

"Warsaw has a great advantage playing on its own course," he said. "Playing up there (Wawasee GC), that course brought the field together where Rozella will string the field out. It is just a lot tougher course."

Valley's chances seem to ride on the shoulders of No. 1 golfer Kara Tucker. Although she has been experiencing a mini-slump of late, she will tell the Vikes' tale on Saturday.