Grinding away at golf can feel like a solitary, soul-sapping endeavor at times.
There are so many good high school players that progress is difficult to measure in the offseason.
That’s why Valparaiso’s Wynne Aldrich is ready for the high school season to get into full swing. Matches started this week.
She’s ready to enjoy her golfing experience again.
It’s not that she didn’t like her summer golfing journey. It’s just that it wasn’t always easy.
“I’m really excited,” she said of the season. “It’s always super fun hanging out with the girls. It’s always great to be on a team. They always have your back and it’s fun.”
Aldrich’s best finish this summer was a tie for eighth at the Girls State Junior Championship in Terre Haute.
Aldrich wishes her summer was better.
“I had some good rounds here and there,” she said. “I didn’t play that good.”
Aldrich, a junior, has high expectations.
She finished tied for 11th at the high school state tournament last season after rounds of 79 and 77.
With Lake Central’s Alexis Miestowski graduated, Aldrich is the top returning golfer in Northwest Indiana.
Valparaiso coach Bill Miller said she was consistently good last year.
Aldrich averaged 77 for 18 holes. She shaved 4.6 strokes off her average from 2016.
Despite Aldrich’s trepidation about her game, Miller believes she will play well. Miller expects another drop in her scoring average though it won’t exceed four strokes.
“I expect her to pick up where she left off last year,” he said. “I think she is looking to build on what she did last year.”
Aldrich confirms that she can be hard on herself.
“I feel like I put pressure on myself,” she said. “Especially because there are scores I know I can shoot and if I don’t do it, it makes it harder for me.”
Aldrich said she wants to be “more consistent with my swing. I need to be better with my putting, short game and tee shots.”
The Vikings look like a team that can make it back to the state finals.
They were the only Northwest Indiana team to golf downstate last year.
They return four golfers, including seniors Grace Cusson and Claire Lee and junior Annika Johnson. The only top five player the Vikings lost to graduation was Ema Gilliana.
Cussson averaged 84 for 18 and Lee around 90.
Miller isn’t sure who will fill the fifth spot.
Aldrich likes her team and thinks it should be a good season.
“I think we can really show people what Valpo can do this year,” she said.
Top 10 players
Delaney Adams, Crown Point, sophomore; Madelyn Adams, Crown Point, sophomore; Wynne Aldrich, Valparaiso, junior; Catherine Brzycki, Griffith, junior; Dominique Colantuono, Lake Central, senior; Danielle Colantuono, Lake Central, junior; Grace Cusson, Valparaiso, senior; Halle Gutwein, Kankakee Valley, junior; Madison Simms, Chesterton, junior; Olivia Wood, Portage, senior.
Top five teams
1. Valparaiso: The Vikings, who finished 10th at state, have four golfers back. Wynne Aldrich, who tied for 11th, is the best returning golfer in the area. Seniors Grace Cusson and Claire Lee have solid experience. A reasonable goal for the Vikings would be to finish in the top eight at state.
2. Crown Point: The Bulldogs have plenty to look forward to. Sophomore sisters Madelyn and Delaney Adams averaged 44 and 46, respectively, for nine holes. Isabella Weiss, a sophomore, Gabby Sopher, a senior, and Sydney Weiner, a junior, all averaged between 48 and 50 last year, according to coach Jen Vinovich. This is a young group that will get better.
3. Lake Central: The Indians return four of their top five. Problem is, Alexis Miestowski, who finished second at state last year and won state in 2015, has graduated. Senior Dominique Colantuono and her junior sister Danielle return. Junior Sarah Sanders also is back. Isabel Spanburg, a senior, also played. Both Colantuono sisters and Sanders made all-conference.
4. Munster: Euna Lee, the Mustangs’ best player, moved to California. Munster still has plenty of talent. Veteran juniors Grace Gozdecki and Mirela Jeknic return. Seniors Emma Ladd, Alex Rowady and Izzy Bednarowski also contributed. The Mustangs are the best team in the Northwest Crossroads Conference.
5. Portage: Olivia Wood, Peyton Panozzo, Hannah Doell and Gina Kapinos, all seniors, return for first-year coach Jovanny Gonzalez. The Indians qualified for the regional and Wood was an all-conference selection in the DAC.
Twitter @MikeHuttonPT
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