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Watterson Roundup
Girls golfers don't plan to allow dropoff Thursday, August 24, 2006
AARON BLANKENSHIP
Watterson High School girls golf coach Rick McQuade assumed he would need to rebuild this season after the Eagles lost six graduates, including top-scorers Gina Besozzi and Jessica Khourie. That may not turn out to be the case, however. "Everyone really worked on their games and came back better golfers," said McQuade, whose team was second (337) to West Chester Lakota West (330) in the 17-team Turnberry Invitational last Friday. "These girls have improved more than I could have hoped for." The Eagles competed in the second round of the MOGGL-Blue Division tournament last Monday and will compete today at Marysville Country Club against Marysville and Tuesday at Worthington Hills against Lancaster. Watterson's top returnees are seniors Ann Miles and Christine Traini, juniors Allie Chaney and Claire Topper and sophomores Elizabeth Hrach, Megan Preston, Emily Ransone and Brooke Samstutz. "Emily and Ann have been pretty equal at the top for us," McQuade said. "Claire's been a solid No. 3, and we've got a bunch who are shooting good scores behind her." The Eagles last year won the MOGGL-Blue title for a second consecutive year with a 35-0 mark. They shot a 328 to win the sectional at Pine Hill ahead of runner-up Upper Arlington (338) and six other teams. The Eagles competed in the state tournament as a team for the first time after qualifying from the district at Clover Valley. Dublin Jerome (322) won its second consecutive district title ahead of Upper Arlington (339) and Watterson (341) as the top two advanced, but there was a problem with the scorecard for UA's No. 2 player, and eventually all three teams were allowed to play at state. The Eagles finished seventh (762) of 13 teams behind champion Jerome (695) at state at The Players Club at Foxfire. Besozzi tied for 26th (181), Ransone tied for 37th (186), Khourie tied for 47th (192) and Miles tied for 57th (203). Christine Traini finished 78th after failing to finish the first day and shooting a 112 the second day. Dayton Oakwood's Emma Jandel was first (153). "I'm hoping we can get back to state and maybe score a little bit better there," McQuade said. "Last year we were happy just to be there. This year we want to be more competitive." The Eagles opened Aug. 14 by winning the eight-team Brookside Invitational with a 332 ahead of runner-up Pickerington North (358). Ransone shot a 78, followed by Miles (79), Topper (86) and Chaney (89). The next day Watterson was second (359) behind UA (354) at the Top 13 Tournament at Clover Valley. Ransone (80) was medalist. The Eagles shot a 331 on Aug. 17 to win the first round of the MOGGL-Blue tournament at The Links at Echo Springs ahead of runner-up Centerburg (384). Ransone (77) finished second. "Alex is going to be our horse," said coach Dave Eberst, whose team will compete in CCL duals today at Darby Creek against Ready and Tuesday at Cumberland Trail against Worthington Christian. "The kids all look up to him and the team will go as far as Alex goes." Rounding out the lineup are juniors Ricky Boerner and Sean Lombardo, sophomore Nick Reardon and freshman John McMahan. "We've got a lot of good golfers, but only two with varsity experience," Eberst said. "There's no substitute for varsity experience. As the season goes on, we'll be better." The Eagles last year won their seventh consecutive CCL title, and graduate Jonathan Bowers won the individual state championship. In the CCL, Watterson (14-1) edged St. Charles (13-2). "Us, St. Charles and DeSales are evenly-matched, so it's going to be a war," Eberst said. "The competition is good because it makes the kids play harder." Watterson placed third (305) behind Marysville (298) and Hilliard Darby (299) last year in the 12-team sectional at Darby Creek. The Eagles were fifth (309) in the district at Apple Valley. Bowers (71) was first, followed by Redfield (78), Reeves (79) and graduates Tom Sauer (81) and Zac Stein (83). The top three teams and top three individuals not on qualifying teams advanced to state. Hilliard Darby's Ethan Tracy and Westerville Central's Bryan Blake both shot 74 to earn the other two state-qualifying spots. Upper Arlington (303, via tiebreaker) was first, ahead of New Philadelphia (303), Dublin Jerome (304) and St. Charles (307). Watterson won its first Division I state team title in 2004. Ralph Guarasci won three individual state titles for Watterson from 1972-74 and led the Eagles to Division AA state team titles the same years. Watterson won the Division AA state title in 1976 as well. At the state tournament at The Players Club at Foxfire, Bowers shot a 151 and tied Blake for the individual championship. "Our biggest goal is always to play in the state tournament as a team," Eberst said. The Eagles opened Aug. 15 in the 10-team Cleveland St. Ignatius Invitational and finished eighth (316) behind champion Upper Arlington (288) as Lombardo shot a 74. Watterson was first (303) in the first round of the CCL tournament Aug. 16. DeSales (307), St. Charles (313), Rosecrans (334), Worthington Christian (354), Ready (355) and Hartley (390) followed. Redfield (69) was medalist and Boerner (73) finished third. On Aug. 17, the Eagles finished fifth (310) behind champion Pickerington North (299) in the 19-team Fairfield Federal Invitational at Turnberry. "We've started slowly, which I knew we would," Eberst said. "Hopefully, when October comes, we'll be at our best." Watterson opened last Friday with a 5-0 win over Lancaster and then tied Pickerington Central and Columbus School for Girls for second (20 points) behind Lexington (32) last Saturday in the 10-team CSG Invitational. It will compete Saturday in a tournament at Toledo Ottawa Hills. The Eagles play host Monday to Hilliard Davidson, Tuesday at Worthington Christian and Wednesday at home against Wellington. Watterson beat Davidson 4-1 and Worthington Christian 5-0 a year ago. "We want to beat last year's record and try to win the CCL," coach Mary Lorms said. "DeSales is probably still the favorite." Freshman Maureen Stevens will play first singles, with junior Jackie Stevens and sophomore Gabriela Collazo at second and third. At doubles are senior Meghan Janotka, juniors Lauren Kaszak, Kirsten Koehler and Daniela Milano and sophomore Lexi Niermeyer. "Maureen is definitely a talented player, but this is her first year playing high school tennis and she will play some girls with a lot of experience," Lorms said. "They're all pretty good hard-hitters, so we're working on their finesse and net games." In the Division I sectional at Pickerington North last year, graduate Elizabeth Diaz and Kaszak won the doubles title and Niermeyer and graduate Ellen Conrad advanced to a district qualifier before losing to DeSales' Jackie Hartig and Maddie Lewis 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. Jackie Stevens, Janotka and Collazo lost in the first round in singles. At district, Diaz and Kaszak lost a state-qualifying match to Upper Arlington's Jackie Mason and Jayne Miely 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. "Our goal is to get the kids at least to district, and that can be hard depending on what sectional we end up in," Lorms said.
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February 9, 2010 | Currently:
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By Joy Parker/ThisWeek
By Joy Parker/ThisWeek
© 2010 ThisWeek
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