Tigresses win second regional in three years

SPRING VALLEY — Roger Lowe believes his Princeton Tigresses golf team may be the best kept secret in Bureau County. After winning their second regional in three years, they might not be anymore.

The Tigresses used a 1-2 punch of medalist Gwen Holmes (89) and runner-up Alyssa James (96), and got more than enough firepower from the rest of their lineup to walk away with their second regional hardware since 2006, also at Spring Creek.

“I’m just so happy for the kids. They put so much effort, so much energy, so much time to get here. I wish this group of girls would get more recognition around our school, around our community. It’s a test of character when you do things when no one’s watching. That’s what we do every single night out.

“We’ll come home tonight and there won’t be anybody waiting for us, but we know we won a regional.”

Next up on the tee blocks for the Tigresses will be Monday’s 1A Lena Sectional at Wolf Hollow in Lena. The Tigresses will be joined by individual qualifiers Emily Prokup of St. Bede and Abby Nielson of Bureau Valley.

“It never happened before in the history of Princeton High School. To win two in three years (it’s a big accomplishment),” Lowe said.

PHS’ 433 was 11 strokes higher than the 422 they recorded to place second in 2007, but 15 strokes lower than what they shot to win their first regional in 2006.

Wednesday’s meet was like two different rounds. The morning flights were cold and windy. By noon, the bad weather broke, the sun came out and Mother Nature shined on the lady golfers.

Like the U.S. postal service, Holmes delivered in all weather conditions. She had a 45 on the front 9 and added a 44 on the back side, helped by four par holes.

“I’m just glad it’s over. I’m never happy with how I golf,” Holmes said. “I didn’t do as well as I’ve done in the past, so it was probably because of that. It was pretty miserable this morning. I had many, many articles of clothing. I didn’t expect to get any nicer, so it was a pleasant surprise, I guess.”

James felt good about her 47 on the front 9 in the morning and was elated to see the weather take a turn for the good. She had two pars on the front 9 (No. 3 and 6) and parred out on the last two holes of the day.

“I think it’s a lot easier to play when it’s nice out than when it’s cold,” James said.

“Gwen carried us and Alyssa was right on her shoulders,” Lowe said. “Gwen’s 89 was just unbelievable with the conditions today. Alyssa played a great round, too. We had just enough from Alizabeth and Kaitlyn. They had to bear down on the back 9 and get us some good holes, which they did. Without them, we wouldn’t have got here either.”

Ribar, a senior captain along with Holmes and James, chipped in with a 119 and Fiorini added a 129 to the PHS scorecard. Also competing for PHS were Alexia Hult (156) and Jessica Headley (180).

Rock Falls had never played at Spring Creek before and Lowe believed the Tigresses’ course knowledge played  into the Tigresses’ hands.

St. Bede’s Prokup, who was Spring Creek’s junior champion this summer, enjoyed the home course advantage, but didn’t exactly show it. She told some friends if they wanted something good to laugh at they could just look at her front 9 score of 60.

The St. Bede senior regained some confidence on the back 9 to qualify with a 116, not her best performance of the season,  but still a team high by 20 strokes. She some strong drives helped make up for her struggles with her short game.

Bureau Valley’s Nielson finished strong on the back 9 with a 57, cutting nine strokes off the front to secure a qualifying spot for sectionals, the first for a BV girl.

BV coach Charlie Yelm said her 68 on the back 9 was about what he expected, but after examining the other scores he said, “it wasn’t that bad a score. That back nine is tougher and longer.”

The BV junior didn’t play as as sophomore  but told Storm coach Charlie Yelm she might like to this year.

St. Bede finished fifth as a team at 542. Along with Prokup’s 116, the Lady Bruins scored with Kelsey Sondgeroth (136), Melanie Kim (145) and Olivia Dean (145).

• Notes: The Tigresses did receive a fire truck escort upon their arrival home at the city limits. ... Midland placed fourth as a team, but still advanced four girls individually. Of the 48 golfers on the course, 26 advanced to sectional  either with their team or individually. There were 10 individual qualifiers with three tying for the eighth and final spot with 134s. ... BV’s Emily Brousseau had a 147.

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