JC tees off Tuesday

While the rest of the Jay County High School fall sports teams were opening practice today, Butch Gray was working on putting together a starting lineup.
With just four returning players and three days of practice before the opening event, that task is somewhat of a challenge.
The JCHS golfers, led by Alysia Fennig, Katlin Petro and Whitney Gray, will open play Tuesday in the Monroe Central Invitational at Hickory Hills Golf Club.
There will at least be plenty of players to choose from to fill out the lineup with eight newcomers on the roster.
“I’m happy with the number that are here, especially with the young ones,” Butch Gray said. “Last year we played with six or seven most of the time. I just hope we can improve as the year goes on.”
South Adams was scheduled to open the 2012 campaign at Monroe Central as well, but pulled out of the event in deference to the funeral of Army Spc. Nick Taylor. The Starfires will instead open on Thursday at the DeKalb Invitational.
Fennig is Jay County’s top returning golfer this year as one of just two players to post sub-55 averages last season. She finished at a team-best 53.2 strokes per nine holes while then-senior Brittany Stevens had an average of 54.
Fennig consistently shot in the low 50s for the Patriots at the close of the 2011 campaign, and came in with a 47 in an Aug. 30 split of a three-team match at Winchester Golf Club. She was the No. 2 player for JCHS at the sectional tournament, posting a 109 to trail Stevens by three strokes.
Petro, a junior, also came up big in a couple of late-August matches for the Patriots, carding career-best scores twice in the span of seven days. She broke 50 for the first time with a 49 at Portland Golf Club in a win over South Adams and then finished with a 47 a week later at Hickory Hills Golf Club as Jay County split with Wapahani and Monroe Central.
“Fennig (is) pretty steady,” said Gray. “She has high expectations.
“She hits the ball pretty consistently off the tee. From what I have seen a little bit this summer, her chipping and putting has improved. As long as she stays within what she can do, she’ll be OK.
“Katlin is much the same,” he added of Petro, who shot 115 in the sectional tournament at Timber Ridge Golf Club. “She had some rounds last year that kind of surprised us.”
Gray was just a stroke behind Petro at the sectional tournament and has the third-best average among returning players. She came in at 56.3 strokes per nine holes in 2011.
“Whitney has been pretty steady,” said Gray of his daughter. “She’s had some scores in the 40s out here this summer.”
Fennig and Whitney Gray are the team’s lone seniors, and Butch Gray said he’ll need them to lead the team on and off the course.
“They were quiet leaders,” Gray said in reference to his 2011 seniors, Cortney Myers and Stevens. “I think that’s a great thing. …
“Hopefully the seniors (this year) can step up …”
Maddison Baughn is the only other returning player after averaging 67 strokes last season. She showed significant improvement throughout her freshman year, shooting consistently in the low 60s by the end of 2011 and posting a 57 for the junior varsity squad on Aug. 18 against Muncie Southside.
The rest of the roster is loaded with newcomers to the JCHS golf team, although Gray said he has seen Alissa Culy play in PGC’s junior program. The rest of the new members of the team are Abby Saxman, Olivia McIntire, Madison Long, Rachel Antrim, Sydney Robbins, Katara Bisel and Hannah Penrod.
Gray said he’d like to see his team break 200 for a nine-hole round during the year and see his team perform well at the sectional. And as always, he noted that the Patriots’ play around the green will be a key factor.
“That’s where you score,” Gray said. “I don’t care what level it is. …
“This all comes down to how can you get it in the hole in the fewest number of strokes. If you can chip and putt, you can save yourself a bunch.
“We want to show improvement as the year goes on.”[[In-content Ad]]