After sending one player to the state tournament last season, the New Trier High School girls golf team has been hard at work to qualify for the state championship in Decatur this October. The Trevians have been successful so far, going 7-1 and were undefeated until their Sept. 11 match against defending state champions Glenbrook North High School. 

Varsity head coach Scott Fricke is highly motivated to make the downstate trip a reality after only qualifying one golfer last season, junior Grace Leber, for the first time ever in Fricke’s 22 years of coaching.

“I have my entire team coming back this year since they were young last year,” Fricke said. “They are working really hard to get back [to state].”

Junior and three-year varsity player Sophie Patel has diligently practiced since last season, focusing on improving her putting and swing. Patel said the hard work in the off-season has been rewarding as the extra effort has paid off in recent matches.

“In the off-season I played for a Northwestern program called Wildcat Golf, and in the winter I would play at the Northwestern indoor golf facility,” Patel said.

Leber, who also practiced at Northwestern last winter, has been happy to see improvement across the whole team since the end of last year.

“I have definitely seen growth from last summer as we play more and more,” Leber said. “So far we have won most of our matches, and I can see that our whole team has grown over the winter.”

In addition to training at local practice facilities, the players travel nearly every weekend over the summer to play tough competition and prepare for the fall season. In June and July, Patel played in multiple 9-hole and 18-hole course tournaments for the Illinois Junior Golf Association.

While recent matches have been going well, Patel hopes to improve her scores in order to set herself and the team up for success going into the postseason.

“My goal this season is to score in the mid 70s for 18 holes,” Patel said. “I have shot some really good scores on nine holes that can help me shoot in the 70s.”

Though tournaments and technical practices in the summer help improve the players’ scores, the game-like team practices are integral to the Trevians’ success. 

“We practice our full swing which consists of irons and drivers. You should pick a target for each club and hit there multiple times,” Patel said. “Then we would move to short game which is chipping and putting.”

When the team isn’t practicing at the range or on the course, team captains Leber and seniors Evelyn Cox, Kendall Humphries-Solis, and Abby Pikelny help implement the program’s core values of integrity, a committed mindset, hard work, and dedication. 

“We just had our practice yesterday where our four captains all taught a station and talked about one of our four core values,” Fricke said. 

During practice, the groups which play together change regularly to make sure all players have the opportunity to work together and get to know each other. Due to construction at the Winnetka Golf Club last year, the team was forced to be split into groups and practiced separately at different golf courses. Leber felt that this division made the team feel like two separate squads and not one.

By focusing on bonding through carb fests before matches and rotating player groups, the team has been much more connected this year compared to last year.

“My favorite part about being on a team is the camaraderie,” Leber said. “During the summer you are almost always alone so there isn’t always someone to talk to, but when you have a team there is always someone right beside you, whether that is a teammate or a coach.”

By focusing on both the technical and mental aspect of the game throughout the season, the Trevs hope to set themselves up for success as conference approaches on Sept. 25, regionals on Oct. 1, sectionals on Oct. 7, and state tournament on Oct. 18-19.

“We have to be our best or else we won’t qualify,” Fricke said. 

Despite the increase in competition, Fricke and the team are confident in their abilities to take the trip to Decatur this October. 

“We know it’s challenging, but we are very talented,” Fricke said.