By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Head coach Frank Gallant said he wasn’t disappointed in Springfield Catholic’s showing at the Big 8 golf tournament Tuesday in Carthage. That’s an understatement.
All five Lady Irish golfers finished in the top 15 individually to earn all-conference honors as Catholic dominated the field in winning its fourth-straight Big 8 championship.
“We knew this Carthage course was going to be tough,” Gallant said. “It wasn’t our best day, it wasn’t our worst. We played solid. Reagan (Zibilski) played well, Lyla (Louderbaugh) came back from one bad hole and played well. Kyleigh (Pfitzner) started off the day with a triple bogey but they all played solid. Right now we’re basically trying to dot the I and cross the T’s, make sure we’re on the same page and grinding toward the state tournament. Districts are next Monday and our main focus is that, getting through districts and marching on to state.”
Zibilski carded a 4-under 67 to finish as the individual champion. She had had just two bogeys on the day and six birdies – including five on the front nine, where she shot a 30.
Louderbaugh shot 36-37-73 to finish in second place individually; she opened the back nine with an eagle on the 10th hole. Pfitzner’s 76 (40-36) was good for fifth place, while Celia Stiltner posted an 83 (38-45) to finish sixth and Reagan West shot 98 (48-50) to finish eighth.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
The Lady Irish finished with a team score of 299, besting second-place Nevada by 97 strokes. Gallant said he thought the course played tough.
“It was a tough stretch with number 11, 15 and 16; those holes right there,” he said. “The back nine was a difficult run and we just tried to manage our scores and it turned out to be good.”
“Sometimes they have to face adversity when they have a bad hole and regroup and move on,” he said. “Sometimes they let one hole drag them down and you just can’t do that. We’re getting better about handling the bad situations on the course but it’s been a four year run to this. It’s been a good run.”
Nevada was led by Emree Cameron’s third-place finish. She finished at 75 after shooting 37 on the front and 38 on the back. Riley Severance also earned all-conference honors by finishing 11th with a score of 100. Kate Pennington posted a 109, Paige Hertzberg shot 112 and Libby Barrett shot 121.
“I was very pleased,” Nevada coach Brian Leonard said. “Emree’s going to be shooting in the 70’s most of the time, 75 was high for her today but she’s going to be anywhere from 70 to 75 or 76 every time. Our goal for the other girls is to try to shoot 100 and that will get us right around the 370 mark. We’re going to districts down at Cassville and that should win districts to get the team to state so that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Leonard said Severance’s 45 on the front nine was one of her best nine-hole stretches ever.
Cassville had two players earn all-conference honors. Avery Chappell shot 87 to finish in seventh place and Alyzea Myers carded a 104 to tie for 13th.
Mt. Vernon also had a pair of all-conference players in Madison Phillips, who finished at 104 to tie for 13th, and Kenadi Killingsworth, who shot 106 to place 15th.
Marshfield’s Marlene Edgeman carded a 75 to claim third-place honors.She posted a 37 on the front nine and a 38 on the back.
McDonald County was led by Kyla Moore’s eighth-place finish; she shot a 98.
Monett’s top finisher was Claire Nation, who shot 99 to finish in 10th place.
Leading the way for Logan-Rogersville was March Mantala, who shot 103 to earn 12th place.
Seneca’s top performer was Britany Adcock, who shot 107. Hollister’s top player was Mahali Loftis, who shot 121.
Team standings
Springfield Catholic 299
Nevada 396
Cassville 417
Marshfield 418
Mt. Vernon 441
Monett 450
Logan-Rogersville 451
McDonald County 455
All-Conference honors
Zibilski (Catholic) 67
Louderbaugh (Catholic) 73
Cameron (Nevada) 75
Edgeman (Marshfield) 75
Pfitzner (Catholic) 76
Stiltner (Catholic) 83
Chappell (Cassville) 87
West (Catholic) 98
Moore (McDonald County) 98
Nation (Monett) 99
Severance (Nevada) 100
Mantala (Logan-Rogersville) 103
Myers (Cassville) 104
Phillips (Mt. Vernon) 104
Killingsworth (Mt. Vernon) 106
