Girls’ golf team finishes season with perfect record

While State was canceled this year, the team was undefeated

The+Varsity+girls+golf+team+after+winning+sectionals

Siebert

The Varsity girls golf team after winning sectionals

The girls’ golf season was on par this fall, concluded by a victory at the IHSA Sectional in Rolling Meadows with an overall score of 314. 

Six senior Varsity golfers, Audrey Tir, Amy Beanblossom, Carter Sichol, Olivia Siebert, and Peyton Sichol competed in the tournament. Of the six golfers that competed, four (Tir, Beanblossom, C. Sichol, and Siebert) had their results added for the team score.

Tir won the tournament with a score of 74, a rewarding victory even though there was no state tournament due to COVID-19 risks.

“We only played up until sectionals. I ended up tying Olivia for first at Conference, and I won Regionals and Sectionals,” said Tir. “I really enjoyed playing with my teammates and I think we all did really well this season.”

Both teams were undefeated this season, according to Tir and senior Reilly Burton.

COVID-19 limited the amount of tournaments that the golfers could play in this season, especially with travel tournaments, which had been a highlight of previous seasons. 

“I think that we only played one [regular tournament] before the state series. We couldn’t take the trips down to Decatur and Champaign like we do every year, which was a bummer. I especially missed bus rides and staying at hotels with my teammates,” said Tir.

According to Burton, COVID-19 has affected more than their tournaments.  The team missed out on their end of the season banquet and pre-competition “carbo fests,” where the whole team gets together and eats foods high in carbohydrates for an energy boost.

However, the team was still able to have a productive season and stay motivated.

“Everyone on the team gets along really well so it was just nice to get everybody together. We also had a lot of seniors so even though we knew that state was unlikely, we wanted to play well enough to get there just in case,” said Siebert.

To make up for these lost tournaments, the team held practice competitions when they could.

“Despite not having as much time together as a team and not having a state, I feel like the season was still a lot of fun. I think one of the ways we made up for it was having practice rounds outside of scheduled practices and on the weekend,” said Tir.

The team split into thirds for practices to stay socially distanced.

“Most of the people on the smaller teams already knew each other so it was very easy to create a community of girls where we could have competitive fun,” said Burton.

One constant this year was the practice structure. 

“A typical golf practice varies day-to-day, however we usually spend time working on short game and hitting balls at the driving range, or playing several holes at our home course,” said Smith.

Smith is an “alternate,” she practices with the Varsity team and plays in JV competitions. She feels like she has done well this season, but still has room to improve.

“My main goal is to lower my scores and to improve those scores. I am looking to improve a lot of my short game during the off-season,” said Smith.

Even with all of the differences this year, the team has really enjoyed being able to play. Burton in particular feels like she’s done really well.

“I was able to have a lot of fun this season and grow as a golfer and as a leader,” said Burton.