Girls golf: Nazareth Academy wins 1A Providence Catholic regional

MANHATTAN – According to Nazareth Academy coach Nicole Jeray, the Roadrunners don’t have a clear-cut No. 1 golfer. Jeray says all six of her golfers are equal in ability.

That proved to be the case Thursday at the Class 1A Providence Catholic Regional at SPG Green Garden Country Club. Nazareth placed all four scoring golfers in the top 10 and won the championship. Its score of 362 was 10 strokes better than runner-up Wheaton Academy and 43 better than Aurora Central Catholic, which also advanced to Monday’s Lanark Eastland Sectional as a team.

Westmont (417) finished fourth, Joliet Catholic Academy (419) finished fifth, Rosary (425) was sixth, Montini (427) was seventh, Providence Catholic (455) took eighth, and Plano (598) was ninth.

“We have a solid team,” Jeray said. “All of the girls can play well. They had a nice day today, and we hope we can carry that to the sectional. All of the girls played like they can. Our No. 6 golfer [Cailtin Sullivan] shot the best of her life today, so that gives a lot of hope.

“We don’t have that big No. 1 player. Everyone is pretty equal, so we don’t rely on just one or two girls to have a really low score. Any one of the girls can be our best scorer on a given day. Three of the girls on the team didn’t start playing until they were freshmen here, and they have improved dramatically.

“The improvement is the thing I am most proud of.”

Senior Kacey Hughes and junior Maryssa Zielinski tied for second overall, along with Aurora Central Catholic’s Natalia Salazar, with rounds of 88 to lead the Roadrunners. Next was senior Gigi Montoro, who was fifth with a 91, while junior Anna Bukovac tied for ninth with 95, followed by sophomore Claire Krema (13th, 100) and junior Sullivan (24th, 109).

“I was definitely nervous early in the round,” Hughes said. “We all had the idea that we wanted to go back to the sectional, and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We had to adjust to the conditions a little bit, but we handled it well and just focused on our next shot. I was pretty happy with my round. I had two rough holes, but I recovered from them.

“I think my irons were the best part of my game today. I was able to put myself in nice spots either on the green or near the green.”

Individually, Wheaton Academy’s Vivian Kutek took top honors with a round of 84. She was followed by Warriors teammates Eva Marquez (92), Megan Lindberg (93), Lucie Stuelberg (103), Sofia Kutek (106) and Ava Shabez (133).

“I am excited to win the regional,” Kutek said. “I think my drives were the best part for me today. I was hitting them in the fairway about 230 yards. That makes it a lot easier to get to the green.

“Our goal as a team was to advance to the sectional, so we did a good job. This wasn’t my best score of the year, so I think I can do better at the sectional.”

Aurora Central Catholic was led by Salazar (88), followed by Nora Schwartz (94), River Grabowski (109) and Caroline Kuttner (114).

The top 10 individuals that were not on an advancing teams also qualified for Monday’s sectional. Making up that list were Rosary’s Alivia Brennan (95), JCA’s Audrey Redell (95), Montini’s Annika Bartell (99), Westmont’s Ivy Ho (100), JCA’s Annie Tibbott (101), Westmont’s Hanora Provenzale (101), Rosary’s Vivianna Ruby (102), Montini’s Lily Spanos (102), Aurora Christian’s Emily Russell (105) and Westmont’s Hailey Butusov (105).

“We brought our four best, and two of them advanced,” JCA coach Mark Alstott said. “The last two years we made it to state as a team, but I am not disappointed with the fifth-place finish. It came down to the last three holes. I have been proud of the team all year.

“Three of the girls today [Tibbott, Mary Jo Meyer and Liz Cardwell] also play club soccer, so they have only played two 18-hole rounds and a nine-hole round coming into today, and they all shot very well.”

“We brought our four best, and two of them advanced,” JCA coach Mark Alstott said. “The last two years we made it to state as a team, but I am not disappointed with the fifth-place finish.

—  Mark Alstott, Joliet Catholic golf coach