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High school girls golfers have started the season, and the end goal for most every team and player is Decatur, site of the state tournaments on Oct. 16 and 17. Here's the outlook for Glenbard South, St. Francis, Wheaton Academy and Wheaton Warrenville South.
Glenbard South Raiders
Coach: Kevin Berner
Conference: Metro Suburban
Top players
Amanda Carroll sr.
Logan Fenhouse sr.
Elana Kozak jr.
Alexa Mittenthal sr.
Outlook: Glenbard South is coming off a season in which the Raiders finished sixth at the Class AA Glenbard West regional and had a sectional qualifier in Elana Kozak, who returns this fall for her junior campaign.
Also back are seniors Alexa Mittenthal, Logan Fenhouse and Amanda Carroll.
"I think we are a better team, on and off the course," coach Kevin Berner said. "This group is a tight group, and they play well together. That bodes well come October."
Not every school in the Metro Suburban Conference has a girls golf team, but Wheaton Academy and Riverside Brookfield will definitely provide challenges.
"Every year we have three goals," Berner said. "Beat Wheaton Academy in a duel, win conference, and advance to sectionals as a team. We have a chance at going three for three."
St. Francis Spartans
Coach: Matt Walsh
Conference: Chicago Catholic League
Top player:
Megan Bormann sr.
Thaia Garcia so.
Olivia Saccameno sr.
Hailey Strickland so.
Outlook: St. Francis is coming off a season in which it finished sixth at the Class AA Wheaton Academy regional tournament.
This time around, the squad has a nice mix of returning senior golfers to go along with a few promising sophomores, according to coach Matt Walsh.
"We just want to continue to practice hard, improve throughout the year and be ready for the regional in October," Walsh said.
Wheaton Academy Warriors
Coach: Haley Martin
Conference: Metro Suburban
Top players
Meredith Bult jr.
Hailey Farmer sr.
Lauren Isenhart jr.
Outlook: Last season was one to remember for Wheaton Academy, which captured a conference championship and Class A regional title before going on to finish 10th at the state tournament.
From that group, the Warriors bring back their top three scorers at state – Hailey Farmer, Lauren Isenhart and Meredith Bult – along with state tourney players Chrislyn Herring and Brooke Nickell.
"We only lost one of our top six so I am excited to see what they accomplish this year," coach Haley Martin said. "We would really like to make it to state again and finish higher than we did last year."
Wheaton Warrenville South Tigers
Coach: Art Tang
Conference: DuPage Valley
Top players
Annalee Dannegger jr.
Priya Desai jr.
Emma Field jr.
Julia Hauenstein sr.
Sarah Hauenstein. so.
Outlook: On one hand, Wheaton Warrenville South returns five of its top six golfers from a team that finished fourth in Class AA last fall. On the other hand, the golfer lost from that group is Kelly Anderson, a four-year state qualifier who tied for 15th individually last year and is continuing her career at Northern Illinois University.
"It's going to be difficult to replace Kelly Anderson to graduation," coach Art Tang said. "She's been our number one player for the last two years. But after last year's finish, the rest of the girls gained plenty of experience and should be ready to go this fall."
Sarah Hauenstein placed 18th at state as a freshman, Annalee Dannegger was 53rd Priya Desai came in 67th and Emma Field and Julia Hauenstein were 84th and 101st, respectively. South hopes to build upon that solid foundation this season.
"Some of our goals this season would be to make it down state as a team and win the DVC," Tang said.