Regional Has Big SAC Presence

Today's and Tuesday's regional golf tournaments will have some Sunshine Athletic Conference flair as seven of its 11 schools will be represented at golf courses around the state.

Most of the regional qualifiers have spent the past week feeling out their tournament course in practice rounds. Some will have to play their course cold. Some will feel like they are playing in their own back yard, or something resembling it. Whatever the case, the common refrain from their coaches is this: Their golfers will have to play the best golf of the season to survive and move on to the state championships.

Class 2A

In practice play at Magnolia Plantation last week, the Land O' Lakes boys shot an average of 72. It was a promising round insofar as the same average would have been enough for state tournament qualification last year. The Dave Harman-designed course shares many features of the Gators' home tract, Plantation Palms, and those similarities will benefit them, according to Coach Tom Clark.

'It's a little longer and more difficult. There are a lot of similar characteristics: greens, fairway side moguls and a rough area that allows for error. It's kind of wide open,' Clark said.

When the Gators square off against Port Orange Spruce Creek or last year's state champion Lake Mary, a top-two team finish might be out of reach, Clark acknowledged. Individually, look to Josh Barnett and Wes Parrish to compete for a trip to state.

Barnett has been 'hitting the ball really well,' Clark said of his top finisher at the district tournament. 'If he can make his putts he can go low.'

Parrish's trouble with the putter will be something he needs to work through to keep pace with the top players.

The Wesley Chapel girls will have to go over hill, dale and then some more, as they travel to the First Coast for their regional tournament in Jacksonville Beach. T.J. Adipietro and Samantha Friese give the Wildcats their best shot for advancement, if not as a team then individually. The Wildcats will need a great round from Natalie Wells to keep playing team golf.

Mike Wozniak has overcome a 'bad day at the SAC tournament at Crescent Oaks,' his Coach Alan Black said, with his qualifying round in district play. Wozniak's consistent regular-season play came into trouble when he sought to improve on last year's third-place SAC finish. Wozniak's bad day led him to a golf pro, who noticed a few kinks in his swinging motion, which he has since corrected.

Black said that his senior has a plan in place to deal with the nuances of Magnolia Plantation and will have to play at his best to qualify for state.

'He bounced back and worked hard to get his game on track. I am happy for him because it is his senior year and he gets a chance to see what he can do in region,' Black said.

Megan Van Etten leads the district runner-up Mitchell girls into regional play, where they will once again square off against Pinellas County powerhouse and district champion East Lake. Mitchell did not play well in its district championship defense and only two players, Van Etten and Rosemarie Quinones, cracked the top 10. Even then, the top finisher from the district, East Lake's Whitney Wenglasz, bested the third place Van Etten by 10 strokes.

Shooting in the 100s at regional will not compliment a low Van Etten round. If the Mustangs expect to finish in the top two, they will need lower scores from Sarah Yarbrough and Victoria Kinney. Otherwise, Van Etten stands as one of the only Mustangs girls with the chance to qualify for state.

Unfortunately, the Mitchell boys will not be able to travel with Kenny Cavender in his second consecutive trip to the regional tournament. Their sixth-place finish at the district tournament ended a disappointing postseason run after a stumble in the SAC tournament cost them sole possession of the regular-season championship. Fortunately for Cavender, he is able to play where he is the most comfortable, his home course of Fox Hollow.

Mitchell coach Rick Hyatt believes his No. 1 is due for a low round and has an excellent shot to make it to state, given the proximity of the tournament site. But he will have to shoot under par to stay above the rising talent level of regional.

'It is an advantage for Kenny to play there, but he still needs to score well to advance,' Mitchell coach Rick Hyatt said.

Gulf's Bailey Logan was not able to practice at Heritage Isles before her regional tournament, but her coach, Bret Wiest, is confident his golfer will be able to navigate the unknown. The course's short length will help Logan's driving. However, Wiest said it will come down to Logan's performance on the greens if she wants to advance.

'If she has a good putting day, she is going to score well. She's been able to strike the ball well and she's a very accurate golfer on tee shots. If the putts fall, she will make a run of it. She finished fourth in the conference and fourth in district and is playing well now. Any given day, you know,' Wiest said.

Kim Donato's round of 100 helped River Ridge to a fourth-place finish at the district tournament and qualified her for regional. She will have to contend with stiff competition from Van Etten and Wenglasz and shoot in the low 90s, possibly 80s if she is to move on.

Class 1A

Already shoehorning a regional tournament into their busy schedule, Saddlebrook's teams are not considering the regional tournament as an afterthought. They are plugging along today, after all their players spent the weekend participating in a tournament at Saddlebrook.

Neither team had the time to get a practice round in at their respective tournament sites, but this should not deter either team from their mission to win the state title. With enough talent top to bottom, both teams have the best chance to represent the county in the state tournament.

The Saddlebrook boys, led by Hugh Lindstrom and a strong supporting cast in Andreas Thoma, Constantine Henrich and Seokil Kim, held off district runner-up Inverness Citrus by two strokes at their home course to capture the district title. Thoma's second place 72 helped defray the struggles of Lindstrom, who tied for 11th with his round of 85. Henrich and Kim finished in the top 10. 'Every year our goal is to advance to state as a team,' Spartans coach Mark Hirschey said.

Mike Tali's girls team brought home the district championship for Saddlebrook, even though they played 'eight to 10 shots more than what we are capable of doing on a good day,' Tali said.

Marianna Garcia and Leslie Choucard finished in the top five at the district tournament. But it was the surprising round of 89 from eighth-grader Lauren Riehle that clinched the district.

While Saddlebrook and Citrus duked it out for the district championship, Chuck Lail's Zephyrhills team sneaked into regional after besting Nature Coast by four strokes. Rick Briggs led the Bulldogs with his fourth-place round of 78, helping the Bulldogs reach their season's goal of making regional.

In their first year of sanctioned FHSAA play for Academy at the Lakes' golf team, Alexandra Irish's qualification for the regional tournament is kind of a big thing. At a pep rally Friday, Irish was honored for her stellar senior season playing with the boys. Playing on a mixed team helped out Irish as she played from the boys' tees during the regular season. When playing from the girls' tees at the district tournament, her shots on the greens were cut down, helping her secure her trip to regional.

'The shots were easier, my short-game improved. I was hitting 3-woods into every green and not usually making them. When I went to the shorter yardages, it was easier,' Irish said.