FRANKLIN - Nine teams, as well as ten individuals, will play for a state championship in today's second round of the 37th annual girls golf state finals.
Credit Mother Nature with winning the first round Friday at Legends of Indiana in Franklin.Friday's opening 18-hole round featured a late start because of heavy rainfall the night before, wind gusts that Warsaw coach Bob Turner estimated to be 40 miles per hour, and chilly temperatures.
As a result, the scores were high across the board, and participants were just trying to make the best of a bad situation.
"It was a rough day at the office, but at least we were at the office," said Turner, whose Lady Tigers shot a 373 and missed the cut by 21 strokes. "We were here. The conditions weren't very favorable today, and the scores were high, but these kids finished their season at the state finals."
Turner finished his career at the state finals, as he announced some time ago that this would be his last season.
Turner, who coached the Warsaw boys golf program to five state finals appearances, including a fourth-place effort in 2001, was making his first appearance in the state finals with the Lady Tigers.
Warsaw's four-person score of 373 left the Lady Tigers 15th out of 21 teams.
Only the top nine teams, as well as the top nine indiduals, excluding those who advanced as a team, qualified for the second day. Any individual within four streaks of the leader also advanced.
Senior Laksika Kannasut, a foreign exchange student from Thailand, led Warsaw with an 88.
Sophomore Sarah Hartle carded a 91, while senior Audrey Petro finished with a 92, junior Kayla Hutcherson turned in a 102 and senior Alyssa Cameron shot a 103.
"Our girls have never played in anything like that," said Turner. "There weren't very favorable conditions. But, it was like that for every body. I thought the scores would be high. I thought a 340 or a 350 would get you out. We were a lot higher than that today."
Second-ranked Martinsville finished Friday's round 50-over par as a team, but will take a 1-stroke lead over unranked Noblesville into today's round.
Fifth-ranked Carmel is two strokes out of the lead with a 340, while top-ranked Roncalli is fourth with a 346 and sixth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern and ninth-ranked Western are tied for fifth with a 347.
Hamilton Southeastern finished second in 2006 and 2007 before winning the state championshp last year.
Fourth-ranked Richmond and eighth-ranked DeKalb advanced and are tied for seventh with team scores of 350, while third-ranked Columbus North shot a 351 and claimed the final advancing position.
"I told the girls to just go out and do their best," said Turner. "I told them not to worry about the other players in their group, just play their game. I know they were watching, because I was too. It's hard not to when you're playing with players like that."
The Lady Tigers played in a foursome with Carmel, Evansville Memorial and Noblesville.
The individual lead is a three-way tie at 76 amongst Carroll senior Ashley Kees, Noblesville senior Meghan Potee and South Bend St. Joe freshman Anna Wilcoxson.
Greensburg senior Brianna Schneidler is one stroke back at 77, while Columbus North senior Taylor Gohn and East Noble freshman Katie Sharp are two strokes out of the lead.
The Northern Lakes Conference will be represented in today's final round by NorthWood senior Amy Thompson, who is tied for seventh with a 79.
While Warsaw's players may want to forget the frustation of Friday's round, they had an otherwise very memorable season.
The Lady Tigers put together a 17-0 record in the regular season, won Northern Lakes Conference and Warsaw Sectional championships, and shot a season-best 323 to finish second in last week's regional at Noble Hawk in Kendallville.
"We had a very enjoyable year," said Turner. "The kids represented their school and themselves very well."
Turner coached the Warsaw girls program for 19 years.
He coached the Lady Tigers for 16 years and retired, but then returned three seasons ago when Chris LaLonde stepped down as coach.
Turner, who has been a science teacher at Warsaw for 36 years, will continue to teach.
Asked what he was going to do with his extra free time, Turner said he was looking forward to spending time with his family, especially his father and his three-month old granddaughter, Addyson.
State Finals
Legends of Indiana (Franklin)
Par 72
Advancing teams - Martinsville 338, Noblesville 339, Carmel 340, Roncalli 346, Western 347, Hamilton Southeastern 347, Richmond 350, DeKalb 350, Columbus North 351
Other teams - Penn 355, Evansville North 357, Indianapolis Cathedral 360, East Noble 361, Chesterton 372, Warsaw 373, Shelbyville 377, Center Grove 378, Lafayette Jefferson 385, Washington 389, Evansville Memorial 391, Valparaiso 409
Warsaw - Kayla Hutcherson 102, Sarah Hartle 91, Alyssa Cameron 103, Audrey Petro 92, Laksika Kannasut 88
Top five individuals - Ashley Kees (Carroll) 76, Meghan Potee (Noblesville) 76, Anna Wilcoxson (S.B. St. Joe) 76, Brianna Scheidler (Greensburg) 77, Taylor Gohn (Columbus North) 78, Katie Sharp (East Noble) 78
Note - second-round play was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. today.
