Following a quick thunderstorm, the Tippecanoe Valley and Wabash girls golf teams joined Warsaw for a three-team match Thursday at Stonehenge Golf Club. Once the clouds cleared, the Warsaw Lady Tigers came out on top of the nine-hole match, shooting a 179, followed by Wabash's 208 and Tippecanoe Valley's 271. The two wins leave the Lady Tigers with a 5-0 record, while Tippecanoe Valley fell to 2-8 in dual matches. "For our first match here this year, it's always questionable how they'll play the greens," Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde said. "We still need practice on that, because the greens we've been playing on are kind of slow and sticky. Here, they're quick and fast. Once the girls get that under control, then I think the scores will drop even lower." The greens didn't seem to be too tough for Warsaw's lone senior, as Sarah Hartle shot a match-best 39 on the par-35 front nine. In the young season, it's been Hartle who's been leading the Lady Tigers in more ways than just on scorecards. "She supplies good leadership," LaLonde said. "She's stays consistent and that's why I think we're playing consistent. She just has a good attitude. She also does a good job of keeping the girls practicing at practice. If I'm in one area, she'll try to tell them to practice putting or going over to the chipping green. She just helps a lot." And consistent was the name of the game in Warsaw's first home match of the season, as sophomore Elizabeth Manwaring shot a 46, while junior Megan Dearlove, sophomore Nikki LaLonde and freshman Alexis Manwaring all finished with a 47. "A lot of teams would love to throw out a 47," the Warsaw coach said about dropping out the fifth-person score in golf matches. "I'm just ecstatic about. In the last match we had, we threw out a 49. Now, I'm throwing out a 47. It was a good round." Wabash (2-3) was led by Katie Smith's 40, but for Tippecanoe Valley (2-8), the low score was a 63, which was shot by junior Allyson Ross and sophomore Alyssa VanMeter. "We shot a 287 in our first outing, and we're just trying to improve," Valley coach Roger Moriarty said. "Right now, our best score is a 251. So, we come out here and shoot a 271. That's not what we want, but on a tough course, it's not too bad." Valley's other three scores were sophomore Tatianna Scott's 68, freshman Kara Eaton's 77 and junior Emy Gelbaugh's 78. Currently, Moriarty is coaching a five-player team that has no seniors. Not only is the team senior-less, but it also starts a freshman and junior, Gelbaugh, who had never played golf before the team's first practice. While he's happy to just see his girls improve with each match, he also wouldn't mind seeing some more girls in the high school take advantage of the sport. "We do need to get our good athletes coming out," Moriarty said. "Our athletes have good hand-to-eye coordination and are good, strong girls. We need to get some of that going on again. Our junior high program also has to get stronger in the girls area. We just have to have them coming out ready to play." Valley will have its next shot at improving Saturday at the Rochester Invitational, while Warsaw is also in tournament action, travelling to New Haven.
WARSAW 179, WABASH 208, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 271 (Stonehenge G.C., Par 35) Medalist — Sarah Hartle (war) 39 Warsaw — Hartle 39, Nikki LaLonde 47, Elizabeth Meadows 46, Alexis Manwaring 47, Megan Dearlove 47 Wabash — Katie Smith 40, Jordan Raugh 46, Jaclyn Lewis 70, Hannah Strickler 62, Nina Lake 60 Valley — Allyson Ross 63, Alyssa VanMeter 63, Tatianna Scott 68, Kara Eaton 77, Emy Gelbaugh 78 Records — Warsaw 5-0, Wabash 2-3, Valley 2-8
