A rematch between the top two teams at last year's Warsaw Sectional took place Thursday evening at Stonehenge Golf Club. Hosting the 12th-ranked Rochester Lady Zebras (2-1), the two-time defending sectional champion Warsaw Lady Tigers (3-0) carded a 181-182 upset win. Trailing 182-183 with four scores in the books, the Lady Tigers got the victory when their No. 5 player, sophomore Aarisha Jain's score of 46 replaced No. 4 junior Kristen Watson's 48, pushing her team to the win. “That was her best score, so she really did a nice job,” Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde said of Jain, who was visibly excited about her score before placing a great chip shot onto the ninth green. “Same with my No. 4 (Watson). She played her best round.” Before the scores began to roll in, LaLonde didn't seem very excited about her team, which was recording a lot of putts. But on Stonehenge's front nine, which was previously Stonehenge's back nine, both teams were doing a lot of putting. “I've been harping to the girls about getting their first putt close, to eliminate three putts,” Rochester coach Chad Thomas said. “They did OK on a few of them, but then they'd miss a few bunnies - some short ones. With the tough pin placements on a couple holes, that kind of plays with your mind a little bit - you're kind of tentative on those two, three footers.” The toughest hole was No. 2, a 397-yard par-4 from the green tees. In the dual match, the top score on the hole was a six, accomplished by three of the 10 girls, while the average score was a 7, and an 8 was recorded by four golfers. “No. 2 killed us today,” LaLonde said. “There was a real high average there. That's what we really need to work on, because after that, everybody had 4s and 5s on their scorecards. After getting an 8 on the second hole, it kind of puts the pressure on you. “They know how to play that hole,” she added. “I just think they got a little nervous.” Learning the holes will be something the Lady Tigers will need to get used to, as their home course changed a bit. Even though they still play their home matches at Stonehenge, the course has flipped its back nine and front nine, resulting in a 'get-to-know-you phase' for the girls. “With a short season, even getting to the back side the last three or four years was hard, because you want to practice on the front because that's where we played our dual meets,” she said. “We'd only see the back side four times during the season. Now, we're trying to get used to this side - getting used to the holes.” Thursday, it was Rochester junior Kovenant Lingenfelter that was most comfortable, shooting a three-over 39. “She was very consistent all day,” Thomas said of Lingenfelter, who posted one birdie and parred five others. “When she did hit it off line, it wasn't so off line that she was in the real tall stuff. She's been working hard on her swing. There's still some things she needs to work on, but she hit the ball well and did not get into any big trouble.” Her junior sister Karsten Lingenfelter shot a 43 and her freshman sister Kinley Lingenfelter finished with a 45, but senior Lindsay Mitchell and sophomore Vanessa Henning struggled, recording a 57 and 55, respectively. “The Lingenfelter girls have a lot more experience,” Thomas said. “They played a lot in the summer. Our 4 and 5, they don't play as many tournaments in the summer, so they're not as hot coming into the season.” For Warsaw, its scores were much more balanced, ranging from a 44 to a 48. The low score was junior Alexis Manwaring's 44, followed by senior Nikki LaLonde's 45, a 46 out of bouth senior Elizabeth Meadows and Jain, with Watson's 48 going down as a fifth-player score. While Chris LaLonde was happy with the win, she'd like to see her No. 2 player, Meadows, and her daughter at No. 3 have their scores come down a bit. “Elizabeth and Nikki just need to relax,” she said. “I think their scores will come down. It just seems like they're fighting it right now.” The win over the state-ranked Lady Zebras was a big one for Warsaw, and it should help with some confidence going into Saturday's Western Invitational against some ranked teams at Kokomo's Chippendale Golf Course. “They like going down to Chippendale and playing,” LaLonde said. “It's my home course, so I like going down there and playing it. You just have to play that course smart, because there's a lot of out-of-bounds on that course. You just really have to keep it in play. If they can do that, they'll have some decent scores.” And once the regular season wraps up, LaLonde's eager to see Rochester come back to Stonehenge for another go-round. “I think both teams played well and it will be an interesting sectional when it comes along,” she said. “It will be a lot of fun.”
