Today – Girls Golf                              UPDATED AUGUST 19 – PHOTO

NOTE: 1A – 3A Conferences play golf in the spring.

4A Girls Golf

Who: Sun Park (Senior)
School: Cienega

Park has been named the Tucson Citizen Player of the Year for three straight seasons. This could be her fourth. She placed second last November in the state tournament.

She is the favorite this year as Lauren Weaver of Cactus Shadows is now playing at Northwestern but Lauren’s younger sister Lindsey (2012) just finished in the top 20 of the 2009 Junior PGA Championship July 31 and was only three shots behind Park last year.

Park told former Tucson Citizen reporter Bryan Lee last November, “My goal was to win the state tournament and I finished second, but moved up (after fourth in 2007), I definitely am going to work harder to reach my goal my senior year.”

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When you only have about 164 students to draw from and you are competing against schools with enrollments topping 1,400 what are  you to do?

Well, you find a few athletes, you make your own schedule and you play. And when you play for the St. Gregory Preparatory Hawks you play well – well enough to win a higher region and take second at state.

According to the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) St. Gregory has an enrollment of 164 students classifying them as a Division I school. The so-called smaller schools play in the spring while the bigger schools play in the fall.

I am really new at this and when I saw the results for the 4A Division II Girls state tournament last year for our Fall Preview and saw St. Gregory finishing in second place I had a few questions.

Dean Visser (Activities Coordinator for the AIA) explained to me via email that there are exemptions made for the St Gregory Girls team and for Scottsdale Christian because, “it’s the only place they can play as an all girls team.”

That made sense on why the Hawks played in the fall but I still could not grasp “how” they played and won in the fall.

I spoke to the Hawks golf coach Jim Carlson and he told me there are, “Several real good players at that high level. There are about four to five in that range and Sarah Mann along with Jackie Chang of Notre Dame Prep are among the best.”

Mann is a senior for St. Gregory and she has many options for her in the future due to what she has accomplished in the classroom and on the course. Winning the Gila Region tournament last year and coming in second at state to Chang are just two of the things she has accomplished in her sport. Being able to pick and choose which school you will play for is an even greater accomplishment.

Schools the caliber of Princeton and Penn are just two of her options according to Carlson. She is so good in the classroom that she has the luxury of taking part in what he called “reverse recruiting.”

St. Gregory is my pick to win region again this year and maybe even win it again next year.

It’s an easy pick because the Hawks return five players. Carrie Ford, Bev Bass, Abri Romero and Sarah Duarte are all juniors. Ford finished sixth last year and Bass also finished in the top twenty.

Notre Dame Prep outscored the Hawks by 100 strokes to take first but the Hawks defeated Kellis by 41 strokes to take second.

“We played fair last year but we look to maximize our ability this year to win state,” Carlson said.

There are a few schools who love to play “fair” like the Hawks do and, because they are not listed on the master schedule, they must find competition through connections. Carlson added, “When you start to win teams want to play you.”

And that is how it should be.

 

Courtesy St. Gregory

Others to watch:

Catalina Foothills juniors Erin McClure, Brittany McKee and Laura Jabczenski. (All three finished in the top ten last year).

Cienega sophomores Kirsti Grau and Jordan Carter

Sabino seniors Brittany Rooyakkers and Stephanie Spahr; junior Shelby Wardlaw.

From Marana we have Bre Jungbluth, Candace Graves and Adriana Vera.

Amanda Kim (2010) of Santa Rita finished in the top ten last year and is sure to make another run at the title.

Top teams: Cat Foothills, Cienega, St. Gregory and Sabino.

5A Girls Golf

Mountain View Junior Kayleigh Kresse finished in seventh last year and looks to go deeper this year as a few of the top finishers have graduated. She will be joined by Melissa Olson (2011) who finished 12th.

Savanna Vig and Leann Olson look to lead Rincon.

Lauren Laszczak will fill the void left by Hannah Sneyd who finished third and graduated last year for Ironwood Ridge.

Salpointe has Tess Terry, Sandra Otero and Alex Davis to go along with their top ten finish.