State Qualifier
The Clear Lake Lion girls golf team is headed back to state!
The regional golf tournament took place at Briggs Woods Golf Course Wednesday, May 15, and it was great weather for time out on the links.
“We came out and executed the shots that needed to be hit throughout the toughest part of the course,” said Lion coach Colby Andrews. “We talked about the teams who qualify for state would have to play holes 13-16, the smartest and most strategic. I felt that is exactly what we did.”
Shooting a 177, the Lions looked great with their best performance being a 184 throughout the season.
“It was great to see the girls execute a well-thought-out plan we put into place together,” said Andrews.
The Lions, after 18-holes, had a shot at 366, besting the previous score by 16-strokes.
“I couldn’t have asked for better timing for our team to figure it out in the same tournament,” said Andrews. “We have played in quite a few 18-hole tournaments and we have never had more than two scores under 100. It was pretty remarkable to see the girls excel in the biggest moment they have played, besides Meghan. We are so young and inexpereienced, but we showed no fear or nerves on Wednesday trying to qualify for the state tournament.”
The 366 earned the Lions a second place finish and a fourth consecutive appearance in the State Meet. The Lions were only four strokes away from first place, losing to Waverly-Shell Rock.
“This year’s team had quite a different route,” said coach Andrews. “A month ago we shot a 442 at Veenker and that was the low point in our season. After that I felt we truly started to get mentally stronger and more focused. I think it was a little bit of a wake up call. Even for me, I knew at that point in order to achieve our season goals we had a lot of work to do.”
Meghan DeLong shot a 77 and was second overall and qualified individually for the fourth consecutive year.
Shaelyn Ulrich and Elle Ebling both shot 96, while Emma Sonderman was one stroke off with a 97.
They finished 17th and 19th, respectively.
“Emma came up enormously at the end of the season as our fourth scorer coming off an injury and shot a 97,” said coach Andrews. “I think it says a lot about our team that we played our best round of the year when it mattered most. For this team to make it to State makes me so incredibly proud of how far this group has come from the beginning of the season to now.”
Coach Andrews told the girls they could still make it to state despite losing most of the starting team to graduation.
“I don’t think all of them believed me,” said Andrews. “And to be honest, at moments during the season, I had my doubts. However, I knew going into Monday, comparing scores and our strength of schedule, we were prepared and had a chance to qualify. I knew it would take our best round of the season. The girls came through in a huge way and myself and coach Oiomoen are overjoyed with how we are finishing the season. There is something to be said about peaking at the right time.”
The girls will compete in Cedar Falls at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course today (Thursday, May 23) and Friday, May 24.
