Both golf teams’ seasons have come to a conclusion, with the boys finishing second in the IHSA state tournament and the girls finishing in third.
Held at The Den in Bloomington, Illinois, New Trier finished the tournament with a score of 606, good for second place behind Hinsdale Central. After finishing second last year, the Trevian boys repeated their impressive result.
“We went into the tournament thinking that we could win it,” said senior captain Will Connelly. “After the first day, we thought we were close enough to make a run for the title because we were within three strokes, right where we wanted to be after the first day.”
Hinsdale came back strong on the second day of the tournament, however; the Red Devils shot three under as a team, to take the lead and force the Trevians to play catch up for the remainder of the tournament.
Senior captain Jack Junge took a unique approach towards describing his team’s accomplishment. “We gave it all we had and came up a bit short,” he said. “But first is the worst and second is the best.”
“Overall, we weren’t satisfied with the result but we knew that the first place team put up an extraordinarily good score which made the title well-deserved on their part,” said Connelly.
The girls team had a similarly dominant season, going undefeated (8-0) in their conference, and winning the Central Suburban League championship en route to finishing first in one of the most competitive sectionals in the state.
The Girls state tournament was held at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur, Illinois, a course that New Trier knows very well. They finished in third with a score of 653, behind second place Loyola and champion Hinsdale Central.
“It’s an honor to be able to go downstate,” said senior captain Lauren Sigurdson. “We were very lucky to have that experience.”
After the first day of play, the Trevians found themselves locked in a tie for first place with Hinsdale. Although the second day did not go as planned, they improved on last year’s fifth place finish.
Senior captain Lauren Holly echoed Sigurdson’s thoughts on the state tournament. “I couldn’t be prouder of my team, even though we didn’t finish exactly how we wanted,” she said. “We had an incredible season.”
For a team laden with seniors, next season will result in a change in roles for junior captain Louise McCulloch. “While I know the team is going to be much different without the seniors,” McCulloch said, “I look forward to watching the team improve and hopefully making it back to state next year.”