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Thomas ties for 27th in final prep tourney; Moore shoots 194, Haughs shoots 200
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Junior Olivia Bailey became the first girls golfer in Rochester history to make the all-state team after finishing in a tie for 20th at the IHSAA state finals Saturday. Bailey had previously won medalist honors at the Twin Lakes sectional on Sept. 23 and the Lake Central regional on Sept. 28. Bailey is in the top row, third from the right, in this photo. (photo provided by Chad Thomas)
Rochester junior Olivia Bailey chips from off the green during the second round of the IHSAA state finals at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel Saturday while coach Chad Thomas watches in the background. Bailey shot rounds of 79 Friday and 80 Saturday for a two-day total of 159. She finished tied for 20th in the field of 111 golfers.
CARMEL — As compared to the other schools that qualified for the IHSAA state finals, the Rochester girls golf team is small, but they are mighty.
And Olivia Bailey is especially mighty.
Bailey shot an 80 at the second round at state at Prairie View Golf Club Saturday to become the first Rochester girls golfer to make the all-state team and helped lead Rochester to a tie for 12th place.
Bailey shot a 79 in the first round Friday for a two-day total of 159. She finished in a tie for 20th out of a field of 111.
Twenty golfers make the all-state team. Those finishing in the top 10 make the team automatically. The remaining spots go to players based on a formula that includes performance at state and previous tournaments.
Bailey was both the sectional medalist at Tippecanoe Country Club in Monticello on Sept. 23 and the regional medalist at Sandy Pines Golf Club in DeMotte on Sept. 28, and she earned one of the remaining spots.
As for the team, the Lady Zs shot a 358 Saturday in addition to their 356 Friday. Their 714 total put them in a tie for 12th in the 18-team field with Northridge.
Ava Thomas added an 81 Saturday to her 80 Friday for a 161 and finished in a tie for 27th. Molly Moore shot a 94 Saturday after 100 Friday for a 194 total and finished in 90th place. Lexi Haughs shot a 103 Saturday after a 97 Friday for a 200 total and finished in a tie for 94th.
No. 5 player Laynie Migonis withdrew due to illness on her 11th hole Saturday.
Rochester shot a 710 in 2012 and a 724 in 2013 in their previous two state appearances back when the state finals were held at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin. They finished 14th both years.
“I thought we could definitely be a top 15 team, so that was kind of a goal,” Rochester coach Chad Thomas said. “I thought let’s finish in the top 15, and if we could get in the top 10, that would just be tremendous. If we could have got in the top 10, the smallest school here, a school with 400-some students going against schools that have several thousand, says a lot about the girls and the time and effort they put in. But I’m very pleased with their effort I’m very proud of them.
“I think they represented Rochester really, really well, and we appreciate all the support the community gave us these last several weeks.”
Pioneer’s Mia McKaig, the other area player in the field, shot a 91 Saturday after a 94 Friday for a 185 total. She finished in a tie for 74th.
McKaig, the first girls golfer from Pioneer to ever make state, started on the back nine and had four pars. She later birdied the par-3 sixth hole with its elevated green.C
Zionsville won the team title with a 627, and Zionsville freshman Taylor Snively shot back-to-back even-par 72s for a 144 total to win state medalist.
Rochester was the only Class 2A basketball school in the field. The other 17 schools are in Classes 3A or 4A for basketball, and 14 of the 17 have an enrollment at least double that of Rochester.
Rochester’s enrollment is listed at 473. Evansville Memorial was the next smallest school in the field with an enrollment of 617.
Bailey’s round included six bogeys and a triple bogey. She also had a birdie on the bunker-strewn fifth hole, a par-4.
“She started hitting some good shots and started stringing some good holes together,” Rochester coach Chad Thomas said. “I call it cruise control. Tell them put it on cruise and go, but definitely had a nice finish there too as well.”
Ava Thomas did not have a score worse than a bogey for the first 31 holes before having trouble excavating a ball from one of Prairie View’s deep bunkers on No. 5 and taking a triple bogey. Two holes later, she stuffed an iron shot on the long par-5 seventh hole within two feet for a birdie. She finished with a bogey on No. 8 and a double bogey on No. 9.
“Her round started really, really well,” coach Thomas said of Ava. “She was hitting the ball so much better today than she was yesterday. She shot 38 on her first nine, which is the back nine here, which is a really, really good score on that side. She had it going till hole five, and she had some trouble in a bunker and hit a bad chip and ended up taking a triple there. And then to finish on 18 … not the way you draw it up. But still, two really solid rounds of golf. 80-81 is solid out here. It’s a tough golf course and tough conditions as far as the pressure that’s on you, and I’m very, very proud of her.”
Moore was handling a radiating pain in her left arm – from her elbow down to her wrist – on every shot through both days.
“I think she handled the wrist better today,” coach Thomas said. “I know it still bothered her, but I don’t think it bothered today as much. I know she had a different wrap on it and a different wrist guard on there, and I think that helped it. I know she treated it last night, iced it and did a lot of things with that. That was really impressive as a freshman to do that with a wrist that wasn’t feeling great.”
Haughs’ round included nine double bogeys and three triple bogeys as compared to two pars.
“Sometimes you get on that train, and it’s hard to get off,” coach Thomas said. “Not any huge numbers, and so I know she’s disappointed. I know she was hoping for a better round today. It’s one of those that she’s going to learn a lot about herself and her game. I know that she’s going to come back better and really work at it.”
Migonis had been feeling sick all weekend.
“She gutted it out for 11 holes, and that’s when she decided she couldn’t go any more,” coach Thomas said. “She was just really weak. This course can take it out of you both mentally and physically, and when you are sick and not feeling well, it just compounds it. So she was in rough shape.”
IHSAA state finals, Day 2
at Prairie View Golf Club, Carmel (par 72)
Zionsville 627, Noblesville 632, Hamilton Southeastern 652, Westfield 653, Franklin 664, Center Grove 674, Batesville 681, Carmel 691, Castle 695, South Bend St. Joe 702, Homestead 709, Northridge 714, Rochester 714, DeKalb 726, Lake Central 733, New Palestine 736, Bedford North Lawrence 736, Evansville Memorial 825
ROCHESTER (358): Olivia Bailey 80, Ava Thomas 81, Molly Moore 94, Lexi Haughs 103, (Laynie Migonis WD)
ROCHESTER (TWO-DAY TOTAL) (714): Olivia Bailey (79-80) 159, Ava Thomas (80-81) 161, Molly Moore (100-94) 194, Lexi Haughs (97-103) 200, (Laynie Migonis 117-WD)
Medalist: Taylor Snively (Zionsville) – 144
