The boys and girls golf teams both capped their 2019 seasons with top 10 finishes in their state tournaments on Oct. 18 and 19, placing third and eighth respectively.

Although the boys golf team placed in the top three for the first time since 2016, their bronze medal was a bittersweet accomplishment.

After finishing 20-over par between regionals and sectionals, the team finished 35-over par in the two-day state tournament, placing them two strokes behind conference rival Glenbrook North and ten behind newly-minted state champion Lake Forest.

“Our number one goal was to win state, so any time that you don’t reach that number one goal, there is some disappointment,” said Boys Golf Coach Pete Drevline. “Overall, though, I thought that this was a very successful year considering that we won many tournaments and came home with hardware.”

The team’s third place finish at state was a somewhat disappointing ending for what was undoubtedly a dominant season.

After capping off the regular season with a first place finish at the CSL South tournament on Oct. 2, the team found continued success in the postseason by winning regionals on Oct. 7 and sectionals on Oct. 12, edging out Glenbrook North for first place in both events.

“This is the best season that I’ve had as a golfer at New Trier chemistry-wise with my teammates, golf-wise, and performance-wise, so it was an incredible opportunity to be a part of this team,” said senior Brian Joseph.

While the team’s play on the course this season proved to be some of the best in their history, Drevline felt that the off-course bond between the players also set a new standard for excellence.

“I’m very proud of the fact that they [the players] played together as a team. The chemistry was outstanding and they’ve been pulling for each other throughout the year, so this is definitely a team that I’ll never forget,” said Drevline.

Despite the fact that the team will enter the new decade without seniors Daniel Tanaka, Sam Weber, Brian Joseph, and Davis Johnson, the team is well-equipped to make another state title run in 2020.

Junior Charlie Creamean will look to build on his ninth place individual finish at state alongside junior Michael Rudnick and sophomore James Pryor, who both became regular starters this season and seem poised for leadership roles in 2020.

“Next year, I think our expectation is the same as it was this year: win state,” said Creamean. “We have a very solid team, and even though we are going to lose some seniors, I think a lot of people will step up and play well enough to where we will have a chance to win.”

While the boys golf team steamrolled their competition on the way to a bronze medal at state, the girls golf team completed a successful season of their own, finishing undefeated in conference play and winning sectionals by a staggering 20 strokes.

However, unlike the experienced core of players that comprised the boys team, the girls team rattled off victories with a cast of underclassmen.

“Last season, we had a group of seniors who were four year starters and we lost them, so this was a team that lacked experience,” said Girls Golf Coach Scott Fricke. “We [the coaches] knew that the team was going to look a little differently than last year, but I felt like we had a great season.”

While juniors Audrey Tir and Olivia Siebert were in familiar roles as starters, the players surrounding them were new to the spotlight.

Sophomores Peyton Sichol and Carter Sichol each had just one year of New Trier golf experience entering the season, and the team’s other two starters, junior Elise Parker and freshman Amy Beanblossom, were new to the school’s golf program altogether.

Because of their inexperience, the team struggled on the first day of state, posting a team score of 43 over par, but they rebounded in round two, posting a 12 stroke improvement behind Tir and Parker’s scores of 79 and 78 respectively.

“I think that the [first day] of state was rough, but I think that we pulled it together and ended up playing one of our best rounds at state on the second day,” said Tir.

With the entirety of the roster expected to return next season, it appears that the girls team could stretch their streak of consecutive top 10 state finishes to 22, and the improvement they showed this season could lead to even greater success in 2020.

“We have every player coming back, so that’s a great sign. I think that they got a lot of experience this year, and all of that experience is going to help them going into next year,” said Fricke.