Warriors boys get one-stroke win
By Jeff Odom
On a day that started out a little worrisome, but Steinbrenner girls golf coach Mark Mann felt nothing but relief when his Warriors completed their match with district rival Freedom.
Kelsy Holbert and Brooke Deal, two of the Mann’s top golfers, were forced to miss the match because of illness.
On top of that, Steinbrenner (9-0) ace Claire Becker was also under the weather, but battled through it to lead her squad to a 181-184 win against the Patriots Sept. 25.
“Claire stuck it out not feeling well for the last couple days,” Mann said. “Just showing what type of person she is and what type of player to come out here and help the team out. (It’s) not her best round, but all things considered, she did extremely well.”
Becker finished tied with teammate Hannah Crosby for the Warriors’ lowest score, a 42. Her squad needed her performance in order to continue their streak of victories, which now sits at 20 straight.
Crosby said she made some miscues, but it felt good stepping up to lead her short-handed team.
“I’ve improved a lot from last year,” Crosby said. “I mean I think I shot 10 strokes worse than I did today, so I was pretty happy. The last hole, I was so angry because I should have pared it, but the course is definitely challenging. … We’re definitely lucky that we still got the win”
For the Patriots (3-3), the healthy return of No. 1 Terese Romeo was greatly appreciated.
The sophomore missed the first part of the regular season rehabbing a wrist injury sustained at districts last season. She carded a 36 on the afternoon after playing the majority of the season one handed.
“It was great; I loved it,” Romeo said. “It’s been a long time, and it happened last year too and I was out for a real long time. Coming back and coming back strong was really what I was looking for.”
On the boys side, Steinbrenner narrowly got past Freedom by one stroke 168-169.
The Warriors (3-4-1) were led by Dillon Garcia and Zach Ishee, who both shot a 39 on the day.
Steinbrenner coach JR Allen said he may have to raise his expectations for districts after the performance his team put up.
“Anytime you can go on the road to a course that you’re not really used to playing every day and get the win, it’s just a great feeling,” Allen said. “I got to say in the last week they’ve definitely been a pleasant surprise. We talked about as a group how much talent we did lose (from last year), and I may have sold this team a little bit short at the beginning. … Lately, they’ve been challenging that.”
The Patriots (4-3) struggled throughout the afternoon, missing key shots that cost them the win.
Charles Seward and Liam Doherty finished tied with Freedom’s best score, a 41. No. 1 Jimmy Jones carded a 43.
“Coming off two good performances, it just wasn’t good on our side,” said Freedom coach Mike Passarelli. “All areas were disappointing, but we’ll just keep going and be ready by districts.”
