Lady Tigers, trio of individuals qualify for East Noble Regional
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
No local golfers, as a team or individually, took home any hardware from Saturday’s girls sectional at Stonehenge. In the world of surviving and advancing, however, the Warsaw Lady Tigers, as well as Wawasee’s Elizabeth Jackson and Mikala Mawhorter and Triton’s Hannah Jennings, claimed victory of sorts in the 11-team field. The top three teams, as well as the top three individuals not on an advancing team, qualified for Saturday’s East Noble Regional at Noble Hawk Golf Links in Kendallville. With their third-place score of 369, the Lady Tigers made the cut, though they would have liked to win their third-straight sectional title and fourth in five years. Individually, Jackson advanced with an 87, while Jennings and Mawhorter qualified for the regional with an 89 and 90, respectively. “Sure, I would have loved to win,” said Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde, whose team went 14-2 in the regular season and won the Northern Lakes Conference Match at Maplecrest in Goshen on Sept. 14. “I still think we’re on the same level as the other two teams, we just didn’t have the best of days. We’ll be in there next weekend.” While LaLonde believes her team is on the same level as Rochester and NorthWood, both of which Warsaw has defeated this season, they weren’t Saturday. Rochester, with a stellar performance on the back nine, rallied to win the sectional title with a four-person team score of 349. It was the Lady Zebras’ first sectional title in program history. The NorthWood Lady Panthers, looking for their first sectional title in program history after going 7-0 in the NLC, finished second with 351. “This is a tough sectional,” said Rochester coach Chad Thomas. “To do this against the quality of teams here, I’m really proud of the girls.” During the regular season, Rochester left Stonehenge after a one-stroke loss to the Lady Tigers. Saturday, the Lady Zebras left Stonehenge with a sectional championship and plenty of reasons to feel good about themselves. Kovenant Lingenfelter, who lost a one-hole playoff to NorthWood’s Heidi Morganthaler, led Rochester with a 76. Her sisters, Karsten and Kinley shot 83 and 94, respectively, while Lindsay Mitchell finished with a 96. To go with Morganthaler’s medalist round of 76, NorthWood got an 86 from Linnzie Richner, an 88 from Summer Stillson and a 101 from Rachel Beebe. Warsaw senior Nikki LaLonde finished third as an individual and led the Lady Tigers with a 79. “I’m happy with the way Nikki played,” Chris LaLonde said of her daughter, who shot a consistent round of 40 on the front and 39 on the back. Other Warsaw scores included 89s from Elizabeth Meadows and Alexis Manwaring, a 112 from Kristen Watson and a 118 from Madi Graham. “Our chipping and putting need to be better, and our No. 4 and 5 golfers need to buckle down,” said Chris LaLonde. “We need to drop some scores. I know Elizabeth and Alexis can drop scores. We have to get our No. 4 and 5 to stay around 95 to 100. That’s what they need to focus on.” With a team score of 387, Wawasee finished fourth and missed advancing to the regional by one spot for the second consecutive year. Plymouth was fifth at 391, while Bremen (416), Columbia City (425), Triton (427), Tippecanoe Valley (471), Whitko (478) and Caston (515) rounded out the 11-team field. To go with Jackson’s and Mawhorter’s scores, the Lady Warriors also got a 102 from Kamryn Foy, a 108 from Kylee Rostochak and a 125 from Aubrey Schmeltz. April Bishop led Whitko with a 102, while Liz Van Meter paced Tippecanoe Valley with a 111.
WARSAW SECTIONAL (Stonehenge, par 71) Note – top three teams, as well as top three invidividuals not on an advancing team, qualify for East Noble Regional. Team scores – Rochester 349, NorthWood 351, Warsaw 369, Wawasee 387, Plymouth 391, Bremen 416, Columbia City 425, Triton 427, Tippecanoe Valley 471, Whitko 478, Caston 515 Top 3 individuals – Heidi Morganthaler (NW, won playoff) 76, Kovenant Lingenfelter (Roch) 76, Nikki LaLonde (War) 79 Advancing individuals – Elizabeth Jackson (Waw) 87, Hannah Jennings (Tri) 89, Mikala Mawhorter (Waw) 90 (Local teams) Warsaw – Nikki LaLonde 79, Elizabeth Meadows 89, Alexis Manwaring 89, Kristen Watson 112, Madi Graham 118 Wawasee – Elizabeth Jackson 87, Mikala Mawhorter 90, Kamryn Foy 102, Kylee Rostochak 108, Aubrey Schmeltz 125 Whitko – April Bishop 102, Claire Reiff 121, Kennedy Krull 124, Samantha Shell 131, Elizabeth Gensch 141 Triton – Hannah Jennings 89, Lizzy Erne 96, Lillie Berger 119, Kayla Kreft 123, Courtney Zentz 147 T. Valley – Liz VanMeter 111, Kara Eaton 115, Alyssa VanMeter 119, Victoria Biddle 126
