By RYAN WALKER
Norwell’s girls’ golf team and Bluffton’s Emma Schwartz advanced out of the sectional, moving on to the regional meet next week with a second-place finish Friday afternoon.
The Knights put up a team score of 397, 106 strokes behind the No. 2 ranked Homestead Spartans on its own home course at Chestnut Hills.
Head coach Mike Niermeyer said he and the team were excited to advance while understanding that next week will be even tougher to get out of for the state meet.
“(The girls) were very excited about making it to regional,” Niermeyer said. “They are going into it with an open mind, knowing there will be some really good teams there, and they have nothing to lose. I think that they just want to play their best and see what happens.”
Ellie Gatton was the top golfer for the Knights with a 94. She finished seventh overall in individual scoring. Anna Dodane placed right behind her in eighth at 95, followed by Nevada Lenwell, 15th overall (103), Savanna Simerman 19th overall (104), and Emmy Heaston 21st (110).
The Knights were one stroke below its total last year at the sectional, which was at Timber Ridge Golf Course. Due to that, the team was disappointed in its scores, but Niermeyer admitted that Chestnut Hills is one tough course to climb.
“The girls were disappointed with their scores, but it is a very challenging course,” Niermeyer said. “The greens were a big issue for the girls as they were probably the fastest they have played this year, and had a difficult time adjusting to them. I also think nerves played a part of their playing today.”
On the other side, Bluffton just missed out on another regional qualification and finished in fourth place.
Last season, the Tigers snuck into the next round with a three-stroke finish over Bellmont to snag the final spot. The Braves this year didn’t let that happen again, with a team score of 404 over the Tigers 422.
The course perhaps played a factor in the sectional for Bluffton, but still had an incredible season as conference champions and rebuilt its team quickly for better things to come in the future.
“We were a bit disappointed in our team total because we know we have better in us,” head coach Tara Cocanower said. “Our youth caught up with us a bit today, and playing Chesnut Hills with faster greens was a challenge. But we gave it our best all day today, so we have no regrets.”
One Tiger will not end her season just yet—Schwartz finished as the top scorer on a non-qualifying team. Her 84 score punches her ticket to next week’s regional, which also got her sixth place overall.
The sophomore, who had been sick all week, made her coach proud as she battled through 18 holes of adversity to still make it through to the next round.
“She toughed it out all day, and I was nervous before the round that she would press and overswing because of how she felt.” Cocanower said. “The opposite happened. She trusted her swing and focused through the whole round. She had a couple of bad breaks on the front nine, but that back nine is the Emma we all know. She was aggressive but also disciplined in her decision-making and made some big putts.”
As for the rest of the Tigers’ scores, Eve Corkwell finished with a 106, Piper Morgan (113), Tressa Renner (119), and Aleeah Grover (120).
Norwell and Schwartz will be at Noble Hawk Golf Course in Kendallville at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 23.
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