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Golfers continue Royal dance with Woodbury |
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor
It took some time and effort, but on Monday, May 5, the Forest Lake girls golf team celebrated Cinco de Mayo at Forest Hills Golf Club by finally defeating Woodbury.
The Rangers had to do double duty, as the front nine counted for their Suburban East Conference meet, and that is where they beat the Royals by four strokes (the back nine was used for their invitational).
“This is thanks to a team effort from all of our players today,” head coach Joel Hall said about the victory.
He’s been waiting for the day when his players resembled their potential, and with Betsy Kelly firing a 35 (the event’s medalist with the two under par), Mallory Messin a 40, Emily Wislicenus 44, Katie Nowicki 49, Brittany Seifert 56 and Lauren Gravelle 54, Monday’s meet was when it all came together.
Over the course of the “other” nine — the Invite — it was good old Woodbury who took first with a team score of 340, while Forest Lake dropped back to 349 for second place.
“Overall, a very positive day for the Rangers. The girls were thrilled and so was I,” Hall said.
Once again, Kelly was the medalist, as she’s been for the past week. Her total score was 76, and she was followed by Messin’s grand total of 85. Wislicenus was four shots back at 89, and Nowicki turned in a 99. Seifert ended the afternoon with a 105, and Gravelle a 108.
Before the happy times on May 5, the girls were in St. Paul last Wednesday and Elk River on April 29.
“I told the girls before the match that when we have a day where all of them leave the course feeling content with how they played, we are unbeatable,” Hall shared in regards to the SEC meet hosted by Cretin-Derham Hall.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to say that yet this year and that trend continued today.”
Sandwiched between solid showings at Elk River and Forest Hills, the Rangers had a difficult time at Highland National Golf Club. Kelly three putted on four occasions and ended with a 39.
Messin wound up with a 48, which included a 10 on the fifth hole. Hall tried his best to think of what could have been.
“Change that to a par and she shoots 43,” he offered.
Wislicenus came through with her consistent 45, and Nowicki, “came out of her shell and hit the ball the best she has all year and shot 45.”
Hall admitted Seifert didn’t have her best outing (52), while Gravelle shot 53.
And by the way, Kelly was co-medalist with Stillwater’s Cassie Deeg.
Speaking of Kelly and medalist, she started the week by knocking off some of the best golfers in the state at the Elk River Invitational. This was the third straight year she has come away with that honor.
“It was nice to see where this team stacks up, and to be honest, it was a pretty good day, despite an effort that can be drastically improved upon,” Hall noted.
The Rangers totaled 372, on an extremely difficult course, and that put them in a tie for fourth place out of 23 schools. Red Wing was first, followed by Irondale and Benilde St. Margaret’s.
“The team we tied was the mighty Blaze from Burnsville. It is nice to see us play with them, even when we have room for improvement,” Hall said. “Beating Edina and Buffalo is good to see from our team — they are tough schools.”
Elk River Invite
Kelly 79
Messin 97
Wislicenus 97
Nowicki 99
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