WINNEMUCCA - It was a mixed bag of results for the Lowry High School girls golf team this past Monday and Tuesday in Fallon and Fernley.
The Lady Bucks won their seventh tournament of the season on Monday in Fallon, but finished second for the first time this year on Tuesday in Fernley to close out the regular season.
However, the body of work that Lowry put forth during the season led them to clinching the Division I-A North championship.
The Lady Bucks finished the year with 71 points, Elko was second at 63 and Fernley was third at 60. All three schools advance to next week's state championship in Mesquite.
"We played well in Fallon, but it was one of things where we gave away some strokes in Fernley," said LHS head coach Vince Mendiola. It's not all bad. We are the league champions and that is a nice accomplishment. We aren't going to let one day ruin that for us. "We have a plan that we are going to use here in the next week and a half. If we can get each girl to cut off three to four shots, we might be able to compete with the schools down south and get in the 350s. I challenged the girls to do that."
The Lady Bucks' Alyssa Dendary, who was named to the all-league first team, was the low medalist at Fallon on Monday with a 78. Dendary finished with the third-best avaerage in the league this year.
As a team Lowry shot 379, Elko was second with a 395 and Fernley was third at 414. Churchill County posted its best finish of the year, placing fourth at 425 and Spring Creek was fifth at 447. South Tahoe, Dayton, Truckee and Sparks did not have enough golfers for a team score.
A pair of freshmen, Elise Rose and Brooklyn Backus carded scores of 99 and 100, respectively, and senior Caitlin Orr shot a 102 for the Lady Bucks; final kept score.
Savanna Cox shot a 106 and Veronica Jones, who was playing in her first tournament of the season, shot a 123.
Elko narrowly defeated Lowry in Fernley on Tuesday, shooting a 369 to the Lady Bucks' 371. Fernley was third at 382 in its home course and Spring Creek (390) and Churchill County (428) rounded out the top five.
South Tahoe (455) and Dayton (482) were sixth and seventh, respectively. Truckee and Sparks didn't record team scores.
Ning Landt shot a 90 for the Lady Bucks, Orr recorded a 99 and Rose shot a 100. Landt was also named to the all league first team and Rose and Orr were second team choices. Fernley's Brittany Evans was named the Player of the Year.
"It's a nice accomplishment for our girls," Mendiola said. "They were the most consistent for us all year."
Backus and Cox rounded out the Lowry scores with a 103 and 110, respectively.
"Overall, we played pretty well," added the coach. "Now, there are some things we need to start thinking about and we have to cut some shots off."
Lowry, Elko and Fernley will now await the three teams it will face from the Division I South. That league will hold its regional championship on Thursday, Oct. 17, in Boulder City. Faith Lutheran, who ran away with the state title last year, is considered the favorite once again. Clark, who finished third at the 2012 state tournament, will likely be another team the schools from the north see.
The NIAA State Girls Golf Championship will be played at The Canyons and Palms golf courses in Mesquite on Monday, Oct. 21, and Tuesday, Oct. 22.
"It's one of those deals where we are close to doing good things," Mendiola. "We just have to play a little smarter. The girls don't have to shoot for the pin every time. Play for an open spot on the green and make a couple of putts. That way you make a bogey instead of taking a seven or an eight. We have a plan for next week and we will see if we can put it to use. If the girls play like they are capable of, we can finish in the top two."
[[In-content Ad]]
