On Sept. 7, girls golf participated at the Waukegan Invite, known as one of the best invites, drawing teams from across the area. The girls will see many of the teams again at state. Overall, the team scored a 333, which placed them in the middle of the pack.

Despite some rough matches, including some that were rained out, the start of the season has been looking good for the team.
The team is beginning to get back into the groove and looking forward to more challenging matches to come.

Junior Audrey Tir believes that although the weekend did not go as planned, the team will make a comeback.

“It was a little rough for our team yesterday but we’re keeping our heads up and won’t let this deter us.” Tir continued, “Even though none of us played our best games we still managed to stay in contention for the top 5 which means that our team definitely has the potential to win other invites.”

The Waukegan Invite was crucial to the season. Head coach, Scott Fricke, sees this invite as one of the best, considering that it was made up of the top teams in the area.

“The Waukegan Invite this weekend is probably the best invite in the state,” said Fricke.

The team saw this invite as a checkpoint and learning opportunity in the season. This season has been different from past years due to the young lineup, which consists of three juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman.

“Even though most of our team is gone from last year, we gained many valuable players who more than make up for our losses,” said Tir.

This is junior Elise Parker’s first year on the team and she has already learned how the team views these invites. Parker saw the invite as an opportunity to adapt and get a feel for the competition.

“At the invite I think we all know we could have done better but it was a good chance to see some of the teams we might be competing with in the future as well as getting to play another 18 holes,” said Parker.

Sophomore Carter Sichol agreed.

“We’ve been working on our short game a lot and playing on the course to prepare for the season.”

As the team approaches state they are constantly looking for ways to get practice in. Right now practice and gaining experience is essential for the team.

“We are looking to gain experience by playing a very competitive schedule,” said Fricke.

The team has begun preparing for state next month working on a variety of skills to make sure that they are prepared for what is to come. The end goal is to lessen their scores.

“Our team has been practicing every week on the course, putting greens, and range to work to lower our scores through the rest of the season,” said Parker.

In 2017, the girls finished first in state, and in 2018, they finished fourth. However, last year’s state team was made of mostly seniors. In fact, juniors Olivia Siebert and Tir are the only returning state finishers.

Tir and Siebert know the team now. Although Tir does see a change in the team due to the loss of many key graduates, she sees the young members as having a good opportunity to grow.

She knows that the younger girls will have a lot to adjust to but she knows that they will put in the work.

“Last year we lost four seniors on the varsity, so a lot of the girls are new to the courses we play and even new to the campuses of New Trier,” said Tir.

The Waukegan Invite may have not ended in the team’s favor, but the girls are keeping their heads up and looking forward to a good end to the season.

“Overall I think that New Trier’s girls golf season looks promising and I’m super excited for what’s to come,” said Tir.