The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Girls' golf team hits links for 1st time
Wind hurts scores, but Neff encouraged
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 19, 2007
The inaugural season of the new Milan girls' golf team got underway Monday with a dual meet between the Big Reds and St. Mary Catholic Central in Monroe.
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But apparently, Mother Nature wasn't too impressed by the occasion. Gusts of up to 30 miles-per-hour played havoc with shots, driving up the scores of both teams and making it particularly difficult for the inexperienced Milan golfers to remain competitive with SMCC.
For what may not be the last time in this debut season, Milan finished well behind its opponent. But head coach Claire Neff says that lessons will be learned every time the Big Reds step on the course, their meet Monday included.
"For most of our girls this was their first round of competitive golf ever," she said, "and they had that wind in their face all day ... I was really impressed with how they handled themselves. They stayed upbeat, they stayed positive. It was good to see."
Neff was able to see a handful of positives on the team's scorecards as well as in its post-meet attitude. Sophomore Amber Marks continued to "show tremendous improvement" in posting the teams' second-best score, which Neff attributed to "all the extra work" Marks had put in on the team's home course of Pineview in recent weeks.
But the Big Reds' No. 1 golfer both against SMCC and likely throughout the season was freshman Lindsey Lammers. Lammers's nine-hole 55 put her only a few strokes behind SMCC's top golfer, a senior.
"She stayed right there with her," Neff said.
Lammers has shown the kind of talent that Neff believes could qualify her for the state tournament as soon as this season—even if
she admits that Lammers isn't looking near that far ahead yet.
"My goal for her would be to make it out of regionals this year or next year," she said. "We'll need to see her more in a competitive setting. But her swing is outstanding."
The best part about Lammers' presence, Neff said, is that she has been an outstanding example for the rest of the very young team, which is made up of only freshmen and sophomores.
In addition to Lammers and Marks, Allie McAfee and Raven Lapointe also started in the SMCC meet. But the bottom of the lineup will likely shift repeatedly throughout the season, Neff said, with Tracie Rasmussen, Genessa Bower, Heather LaBelle, Jamie Barnett, and Marissa Schumer all competing for the last few lineup slots.
Despite her roster's inexperience, the program's fledgling status, and the result against SMCC, Neff doesn't believe the team is necessarily doomed to a winless season.
"There will be a couple of meets where I think we can compete," she said.
But for a first-year team like the Milan golfers, simply growing more comfortable and more confident with the sport may prove more important than grabbing wins.
"These are first-time golfers. We're still learning a lot of the etiquette and rules about golf," Neff said. "We just want to see them continue to strive for improvement. The girls have shown a lot of dedication. We've seen a lot of enthusiasm. After (the SMCC meet), I don't think staying upbeat is going to be a problem.
"To see the dedication they've shown, I think our season ahs been a success right off the bat ... We're still very optimistic."
Milan's next meet will come Monday at Airport.
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or at jhinnen@heritage.com.
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