Maconaquah Schools

Tuesday evening, 29 golfers representing five schools teed it up at Peru Municipal Golf Course. The Lady Braves put together an improved performance, finishing second overall and showing significant progress from their previous match. Senior Aubrey Stoll had a difficult start, sitting four over par after her first three holes following a couple of offline drives and a three-putt. As she has done throughout the season, however, Aubrey showed her maturity and composure by bouncing back in a big way. She played her final six holes in even par, including a birdie on her fourth hole and outstanding up-and-downs on both her fifth and sixth holes. She closed the round with another par on her ninth hole to finish with a 41, good enough for fourth place overall. Senior Delaney Duke also battled her swing early in the match, leading to a few higher-than-expected scores. She settled in as the round progressed and finished on a high note, hitting a tremendous drive on her final hole that nearly reached the green, 230 yards away. Delaney finished with a 56, the second-lowest score for the Lady Braves. Junior Delaney Farnham had some trouble keeping her approach shots on Peru Municipal’s challenging greens, but her recent work on the putting green showed. One of the highlights of her round came on her fifth hole when a chip finished above the pin on the sloping green. Delaney calmly two-putted the slick surface for bogey. She finished with a 58, an impressive eight-shot improvement from her previous round. Sophomore Brina Smith, who has been working hard on her swing while also dealing with a sore back, began to see that work pay off. She posted a 67, highlighted by a long putt on her final hole. Fellow sophomore Evelyn Hanson was a little inconsistent on the evening, as several excellent shots were followed by offline ones. Still, there were plenty of encouraging moments. Evelyn hit a tremendous approach into the third green that left her with a short putt and also struck a solid tee shot on No. 5 that finished just to the right of the green. Her 71 was higher than she expected, but the score did not fully reflect the progress she has made recently. Overall, the Lady Braves finished with a team score of 222, good enough for second place. Tipton won the event with an impressive 181, while North Miami finished third with a 226 and Northwestern was fourth with a 228. Peru was missing several players and was unable to post a team score. Peru’s Piecey Dyer earned medalist honors with an outstanding two-under-par 35. A special thank you goes to North Miami coaches Hayden and Daryn Sturch for helping arrange the match on short notice. Another very special thank you goes to Jake Tschinak and Peru Municipal Golf Course for hosting the event and making sure everything ran smoothly. The Lady Braves return to action Thursday at Rock Hollow Golf Course against Southwood. As always, the Lady Braves greatly appreciate the parents, family members, and friends who come out and support the team.