SYRACUSE – Wawasee High School girls golf coach Steve Coverstone had an opportunity to mix things up Monday, and he did so with no damage to the Lady Warriors’ record. Hosting the Manchester Lady Squires (0-3) at Syracuse’s Maxwelton Golf Club, Coverstone moved two junior varsity players up, but the Lady Warriors (4-0) still got a comfortable 191-223 victory. Moving up for Wawasee were freshman Madison Beaman and junior Megan Goralczyk, who shot a 52 and 54, respectively, on the par-36 front nine. “The girls we put in really did well,” Coverstone said. “This was Madison’s first time in a varsity dual match. She hit the ball really good, she just needs to work on chipping and putting.” Beaman and Goralczyk played in the No. 4 and 5 slots, respectively, while sophomore Kylee Rostochak and junior Courtney McDaniel were given the night off since Manchester had no junior varsity players. “The scores have been kind of close, so I felt I’d give a couple other girls a chance,” Coverstone said. “It wasn’t anything negative about the two girls that didn’t play varsity tonight. I just wanted to give some other girls an opportunity.” Affording Coverstone the opportunity to mix it up was Manchester’s recent struggles, which can be attributed to inexperience. “For us, we began the year with two girls that were brand new, and our scores were not where we wanted them to be,” Manchester coach Josh Troyer said. “Being over 250 was not good for us, especially if we’re trying to be competitive. Dropping our score to a 223 after a 256 in our last dual match is tremendous.” Troyer mentioned his No. 4 golfer, Gabbi Wilcox, had not picked up a golf club before three weeks ago and Madison Hire took golf lessons as a child, but hadn’t played much since then. One returnee for Troyer is junior Claire Barnett, who carded a 43, earning medalist honors and who birdied the par-5 sixth hole. Moving into the No. 1 slot for the Lady Squires, Barnett is attempting to fill some big shoes left by the graduated Lindsey Budnik, who qualified for the state finals in 2012. “With Claire, we’ve really talked to her about really embracing the No. 1 spot,” Troyer said. “Coming into the season, I don’t think she knew how good she could be. The way I’ve seen her hit, her yardages are very similar to Lindsey’s. We’ve talked to her about if she wants to play at a Division I level in the next two years, she’s going to have to put in a lot of work. She’s put in that work, and it’s showing in her scores. They’re gradually coming down.” Manchester did have the low individual score of the match, but Wawasee’s consistency paved the way to the team win. To go with junior Elizabeth Jackson’s 45, sophomore Mikala Mawhorter and freshman Aubrey Schmeltz each carded a 47 for Wawasee. “We got decent scoring from our top three,” Coverstone said. “Three scores in the 40s, that’s what you need. If we can get four girls in the 40s, we can compete with most teams.” Manchester hosts Fort Wayne Canterbury at Sycamore Golf Club Thursday, while Wawasee’s next match is today against Mishawaka Marian and West Noble at Maxwelton. “We like to play,” Coverstone said. “At this time of year, playing is the best thing for these girls, because some of them don’t play that much in the summer. The more you can play, the better they’re going to get.” And the more they play, the more Coverstone will know about his Lady Warriors. “We’re still looking for our five best players, and I don’t know if we know who they are yet,” he said. “But I’m happy with seven or eight girls.”
WAWASEE 191, MANCHESTER 223 (Maxwelton G.C., Par 36) Medalist – Claire Barnett (M) 43 Wawasee – Mikala Mawhorter 47, Elizabeth Jackson 45, Aubrey Schmeltz 47, Madison Beaman 52, Megan Goralczyk 54 Manchester – Barnett 43, Nina Smith 60, Erin Working 57, Gabbi Wilcox 63, Madison Hire 73 Records: Wawasee 4-0, Manchester 0-3
