Heading to regional (09/18/06)

BLUFFTON - Trisha Champ didn't have her best game Saturday. But she had enough.

The Jay County junior scored a 94 at the Norwell girls golf sectional at Timber Ridge Golf Course in Bluffton to advance to the regional round.

Champ's score was second best among teams not advancing to the regional, giving her the second of the three individual berths. Kaytee Imel of Norwell, which finished third by one stroke, moved on with a 78, and Bellmont's Kaitlan Geyer advanced with a 97.

In 2005 Champ's 90 was the lowest score to advance.

The Patriots were in the middle of the 11-team grouping, finishing sixth at 420. Homestead ran away with the title at 341, followed by Bishop Luers (386) and Concordia (394). South Adams was last in the field at 520.

Jessica Sciontino of champion Homestead was the medalist with a 3-over-par 73. Kristi O'Brien of Bishop Luers was second at 77 and Norwell's Imel was third with her 78.

The Jay County team score was 45 strokes better than last season's ninth-place finish, but well short of its best numbers of the season which could have put them in regional contention.

"I'm a little bit disappoint with the team's performance today," said JCHS coach Tom Ferguson, whose squad shot a 395 as hosts of the Olympic Athletic Conference tournament Sept. 11. "At the same time, they've improved over the year and we've had a better season than last year as far as scoring average.

"Typically nobody thinks of Jay County as a team that has a chance to get out of the sectional tournament, and I think today for the first time the girls really realized ... that if we would have played well we did have a chance to get out."

Champ had a solid start with four bogeys and a par in her opening five holes, but finished the front nine 10-over-par with a 46.

She opened the back nine well on the 440-yard, par-5, reaching the green on her third shot on the dog-leg right. She rolled in her second putt for a par, and added her third and final par on the 449-yard, par-5 14th.

The junior played the lastfour holes of the day at 6-over, but still comfortably earned a regional berth. The top score not to advance to the next round was a 100 from Breigh Elder of Bellmont.

"She struggled last year here at the sectional and was able to squeak by ... and she did the same thing this year," said Ferguson. "Truthfully, she didn't have a lot of big wrecks, she was just playing a lot of bogey golf all day long. She didn't have a good run of pars, which she typically does over 18 holes.

"I think she'll bounce back. She still has a good chance to advance to the state meet if she plays well next week."

Senior Brittany Lewis had a good close to her career, and was on pace for a personal-best round before the 18th hole. She needed a bogey on the final hole for a 49 on the back side and 100 total, but went in the water three times on No. 18, a 222-yard par-4.

Despite the difficult final hole - 33 of the 54 players scored double-bogey or worse on 18 - Lewis matched Champ for most pars in her round with three. She was even on the 151-yard, par-3 eighth hole, the 449-yard, par-5 14th and the 331-yard, par-4 16th.

"I think she got a little nervous ...," said Ferguson of Lewis' final hole. "She had a goal to play well today. She said early in the round she didn't want to take any 7s. I think she just brought her game face today, which was really good."

Fellow seniors Ashley Bunch and Miranda Denney shot matching 55s on the front nine, then both got their only par of the round on the 121-yard, par-3 13th.

Bunch shot another 55 on the back nine to close her career with a 110, and Denney was one stroke behind at 111.

Sophomore Ivy Simons parred the 368-yard, par-5 fifth hole as she shot 53 on the front nine, then turned in the only birdie of the day for the Patriots on the back. She rolled in a 20-foot putt to birdie the 389-yard, par-5 17th.

Alyssa Neuenschwander posted the top score for South Adams with a 119. She was followed by Mara Gerber at 123, Taylor Miller with a 135 and Erin Steury at 143.[[In-content Ad]]