If the first two tournaments are any indication, it looks like Lowry and Elko are going to be atop the Division I-A girls golf standings once again.
The Indians won the league title in 2012 and the Lady Bucks claimed the crown in 2013 and also finished third at the state tournament. As the 2014 campaign got underway last week, the two rivals are going to fight for the league crown once again.
Elko opened with two wins on courses in Dayton and South Tahoe, while the Lady Bucks earned the runner-up spot on both occasions.
"The first two outings were on two of the toughest courses we will see all year," said LHS coach Vince Mendiola. "It was 36 holes in two days and lot of these girls have not done that since last year. It wasn't our best golf, but there are things out there we can improve on."
Elko led the way on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at Dayton Valley Country Club with a 377. Lowry was second at 400 and Fernley (436) was third. Churchill County (469), Dayton (525) and Sparks (625) rounded out the team scores. Spring Creek, South Tahoe and Truckee did not have enough players for a team score.
Truckee's Sienna Scibird was the low medalist at 79 and Fernley's Brittany Evans and Elko's Kaily Beatty each shot 81.
Alyssa Dendary led the Lady Bucks with a 92, while Elise Rose shot 97.
"Alyssa didn't play well on either day," Mendiola said. "She is just in a mental funk right now. She is usually a player that hits the ball far and straight. Right now, she doesn't know where it's going. There is a couple of things we will do and go from there."
Brooklyn Backus shot a 104, Savanna Cox followed with a 107 and Veronica Jones shot a 120. In her first high school tournament, Kaity Sample carded a 140.
The league moved to South Tahoe on Wednesday, Sept. 3, where all the team scores increased. Elko won with a 408, while Lowry closed the gap and was second at 422. Fernley (467), Churchill County (482) and Dayton (563) were third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
"Overall, we need to work on our mental approach to how we play the game," said the coach. "We gave up a lot of shots around the green. Watching over two days, I don't think we made a putt from 10 feet and there were so many times they missed a two-footer, because a lack of concentration. Just take 10 seconds to mark the ball, look at the putt and go from there."
Evans was the low medalist at 79, while Beatty and Scibird were second and third at 84 and 87, respectively.
Dendary shot her second straight 92 and Backus fired her second consecutive 104. Rose shot an 112, Cox 114 and Sample 127.
"Brooklyn did a good job over
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the two days," Mendiola said. "She hovers right at the 100 mark. She is going to break that this year. For the first time playing, Kaity did alright. She is showing improvement every day. She cut 13 shots off that first day."
The Division I-A North doesn't have a regional tournament and the three state tournament berths are decided on the final regular season standings. Elko currently leads with 20 points, Lowry is second at 18 and Fernley is third at 16.
Lowry hosts the Division I-A North on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. at Winnemucca Municipal Golf Course.
"This is an opportunity we have to take advantage of," Mendiola said. "We got those first two tournaments under our belt and the girls know who they are going to play with. That will probably stay the same for the rest of the year. We are going to be alright. We have to get our top four into double digits. If we can get away from the triple digits we will be OK."[[In-content Ad]]
