Patriots set mark at 11-1 (09/12/07)

It was far from their best. But, it was enough to make them the best in school history.

Jay County High School's girls golfers weren't thrilled with Tuesday's results, but their 211 was still better than both opponents and capped the regular season at a school record 11-1.

The Patriots finished the year on a nine-match winning streak, giving them a .917 winning percentage. The previous record of 12-2 (.857) was set in 1990.

Their only loss this season came in their third match, to No. 9 Richmond.

"From a team standpoint that's really great because we didn't know how good we were going to be this year," said JCHS coach Tom Ferguson, who has watched his team set the single-match scoring record (176) and Trisha Champ break the individual scoring mark (2-under-par) this year. "We were hoping for over .500 just to beat last year's record by a match or two. The girls have really picked it up the last few weeks and had a good little run there ... Hopefully we can put a couple good rounds together at sectional and maybe go on to regional. That would be the icing on the cake."

Jay County's score Tuesday was 35 strokes off their school-record mark, but still 21 strokes better than second-place Southern Wells (232) and 31 better than Blackford (242).

Despite a tough day that saw four of the top five Patriots score well over their average, Trisha Champ still walked away with medalist honors. She had two of the team's four pars - on the 290-yard, par-4 fourth hole and the 119-yard, par-3 eighth - and finished with a 45.

Champ hit a picturesque first shot on No. 8, landing the ball in the dead center of the green to set up about an 8-foot birdie putt. She left that attempt just inches short, and tapped in for an easy par.

The only other pars of the day for the Patriots - they had no birdies - came on the opening two holes. Ivy Simons played even on the 275-yard, par-4 first hole, her second of the day after opening on No. 9, and Rachel Osterholt parred the 113-yard, par-3 second.

Simons finished with the No. 2 score on the team at 54, and Osterholt had a 57. Jennifer Hunt had a 58.

Freshman Cara Garringer, the only player in the lineup who did not play in Monday's Olympic Athletic Conference tournament, was the lone JCHS player to come in under her average (55.39) as she shot 55.

"It was a long two weeks actually with three matches each of the last two weeks and conference (Monday)," said Ferguson. "I think all of the girls were tired tonight, plus the conditions on the course were windy. But mostly I think the girls are mentally tired."

Jay County will travel to Timber Ridge Country Club in Bluffton for sectional action Saturday. Garringer is scheduled to tee off first, at 8:40 a.m.

The Patriots are set to play in a group with host Norwell, New Haven and Southern Wells, and the tournament also includes six-time defending champion Homestead. The top three teams, and top three individuals not on an advancing team, move on to regional competition.

Champ is a three-time regional qualifier, and narrowly missed a state berth last season.

"They just need to minimize on their mistakes and penalties," said Ferguson of the Patriots' hope for a regional berth. "Timber Ridge has a lot of little creeks and has a lot of places where they can nickel and dime themselves. If they can hit the ball straight off the tee they're going to score well."

The average score for the No. 3 team at the Norwell sectional over the last four seasons is 380, with a low of 362 in 2005 and a high of 394 last season.

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