By RYAN WALKER
WARREN — The first official regular season match for the Southern Wells girls’ golf team went down in the loss column at Dogwood Glenn Golf Course against Whitko Tuesday afternoon.
The Raiders fell 219-237 to the Wildcats, with Kolbie Beavans as the top golfer for the team shooting a 53. Caroline Ripperger followed with a 57, Erika Beavans (63), Sophie Meeks (64), and Hailey Vanover (72).
The 2023 season has a new feel for the program, as it’s the first time the team is coming off of an ACAC conference championship in history. But it’s also a new look, graduating four of the five in the starting lineup and having three freshman fill in those roles.
After watching the first match with a full lineup, with only three participating in last Tuesday’s South Adams Invitational, head coach Ross Palmer sees potential but also an opportunity to build something new after a championship year.
“I think there’s some excitement with (the ACAC championship last year), but at the same time, I don’t think they feel a lot of pressure,” he said after Tuesday’s match. “They understand that it’s a new team, and they’re going to have to learn throughout the season, and there’s a lot of room to grow. I think they all have the potential to get there.”
The top two golfers on the scoresheet Tuesday represent the only two returning players. Ripperger, who was a regular in the lineup throughout the season and ended up as a crucial piece to the team, is the Raider’s leader, according to Palmer, and has the most experience. The year prior, Kolbie Beavans was a freshman and saw time on junior varsity and some spots on varsity.
The other three include freshman Erika Beavans and Meeks, who have been around the sport for a while, and Vanover, who is new to the sport.
“All three girls are really great to be around,” Palmer said. “They’re nice, they listen, and it’s going to be a learning curve for this competitive part of golf. For most of them, it’s new, but there’s a ton of potential there.”
The match against Whiko may have had a few bumps in the road, but Palmer knows the team will be able to adjust. He said as a whole, the five are going to get as many practice rounds as they can and gain the experience needed to be prepared for invitationals and end-of-the-season tournaments while also working on some more simpler things.
“From what I’ve seen so far, we just need a little bit more work around the green — we had a lot of putts today, which is a pretty simple fix and improve or score quite a bit.”
Southern Wells and Adams Central will be on the road for its next match at Heritage starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10.
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