(Published Tuesday, October 2, 2007 11:47:09 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By John Barry jbarry@gazetteextra.com
ELKHORN-A magical season came to an end Monday afternoon for Janesville Parker High School's girls golf team.
The Vikings could not pull off one last feat as they finished fourth in the WIAA Division 1 Elkhorn Sectional at Evergreen Golf Course.
Waukesha's co-op won the team title with 344, and Waukesha Catholic Memorial was second at 365. Kettle Moraine finished third at 371 and Parker was fourth at 381.
Waukesha and Catholic Memorial earned bids in next week's state tournament, along with Beloit's Jada Bennington, Kettle Moraine's Jackie Shepherd and Burlington's Jessica Spitzer.
Milton freshman Ashton Stair tied for the third-lowest round of the day with an 89, but she lost a one-hole playoff to Spitzer for the final spot.
Parker High sophomore Molly Rozeboom watches a putt lip out during a WIAA girls golf sectional at Evergreen Golf Course in Elkhorn on Monday. Rozeboom’s 91 was the best score by a Parker golfer.
Bill Olmsted/Gazette Staff
Parker, which won the Big Eight Conference dual-meet and tournament titles as well as the school's first regional title, struggled on the soggy Evergreen course.
No Viking was able to break 90. Sophomore Molly Rozeboom led the team with a 91. Senior Carol Anne Maveety shot 92. and sophomore Katie Brossard added a 93, but the Vikings came up 16 shots short in their bid for the school's first state tournament bid.
"Three teams played better than us today," Parker coach John Zimmerman said. "We gave it our best, but sometimes you have your 'A' game and sometimes you don't.
"I thought the only team that played well today was Waukesha. They were the only team that handled the pressure.
"There's a big difference between tournament golf and social golf, and we found that out today. It's not because we weren't prepared, because we were. We just didn't play well as a team."
Zimmerman expected Kettle Moraine to be Parker's top threat for a state bid. Waukesha (combined team of South, North and West high schools) snuck up on the rest of the field.
Carol Anne Maveety collapses over her putter as her putt for par hovers over the edge of the cup. Janesville Parker's No. 1 golfer finished with a 92 in the WIAA Division 1 sectional at Evergreen Golf Course at Elkhorn.
Bill Olmsted/Gazette Staff
Waukesha posted the first team score of the day, and it was apparent that the 344 total would likely stand up. Sarah Joers led Waukesha with a 78 in tying for medalist honors, while the No. 2 and No. 3 golfers broke both 90.
Playing along with Catholic Memorial, Kettle Moraine and Milton, the Vikings needed to pick up six shots in the final two foursomes to earn a state bid, but they came up short.
Zimmerman said the disappointment of not qualifying for state can't take away from what the young Vikings accomplished this season. Maveety will graduate, but the next top six golfers return, led by Rozeboom and Brossard.
"I want the girls now to think about what they did for the program," Zimmerman said. "I'm so proud of them and all the things they accomplished.
"And I can't say enough about Carol Anne. She led this team and has been around this program since the fourth grade. We're really going to miss her."
Milton High's Ashton Stair chips onto the No. 3 green en route to an 89 in Monday's sectional at Evergreen.
Bill Olmsted/Gazette Staff
-- Waukesha, Catholic Memorial, Jada Bennington of Beloit, Jackie Shepherd of Kettle Moraine and Jessica Spitzer of Burlington advance to the WIAA Division 1 state tournament next Monday at University Ridge in Madison.
