ELKHART – Consistency will win a team a whole lot of high school golf matches.
The Wawasee girls team proved that point in a big, big way on Thursday.
Freshman Aubrey Schmeltz of Wawasee watches her first drive Thursday. She shot a team best 45 as the Warriors beat Warsaw and Concord in NLC action at Bent Oak in Elkhart (Photos by Scott Davidson)
The Warriors, one day removed from a season best performance in a loss, notched a huge pair of Northern Lakes Conference wins.
Coach Steve Coverstone’s squad, with its top four players all shooting in the 40′s, ended league play by defeating Warsaw and Concord in NLC play at the Bent Oak Golf Club.
Wawasee shot 186, while Warsaw came in at 188 and host Concord at 218 in the league regular-season finale for all three teams.
Youth was served in this matchup of rivals.
Freshman Aubrey Schmeltz, the No. 3 golfer in the Wawasee lineup, responded like a veteran from a tough start to shoot a 45 for the winners.
Wawasee’s Mikala Mawhorter thinks about her next shot Thursday.
The trio of sophomore Mikala Mawhorter, junior Elizabeth Jackson and sophomore Kylee Rostochak each shot 47 for the Warriors.
Warsaw junior Alexis Manwaring captured individual medalist honors with a 40 from her No. 3 spot in the Tigers’ lineup.
Senior Nikki LaLonde shot a 43 for the Tigers.
Wawasee, which shot 179 Wednesday in a one-shot loss to Culver Academies at the Maxwelton Golf Club in Syracuse, improves to 11-3 overall and finishes NLC play at 5-2. The Warriors end up in a tie with Warsaw for second place in the regular season standings. NorthWood beat Goshen and Elkhart Memorial in NLC play Wednesday to finish at 7-0 for the second straight year.
Warsaw’s Alexis Manwaring was medalist with a 40 Thursday.
The NLC Tournament is set for Sept. 14 at the Maplecrest Country Club in Goshen.
“I’m thrilled to get the win,” said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone. “We were not trying to play Warsaw. We just wanted to play our game and when we do that we can compete with a lot of teams.
“We got four scores in the 40′s again tonight and that’s what we are trying to do. Last night (Wednesday) we did that and lost by one shot and tonight fortunately it worked out for us. The girls are playing better. A key is that we are playing better in away matches.”
Coverstone’s team lost to NorthWood by just three strokes last week and also dropped a league match to Plymouth.
Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde, whose team won the NLC Tourney last year to share the overall league crown with NorthWood, was almost at a loss for words Thursday evening.
“I have no idea,” responded coach LaLonde about her team’s struggles. “We had control of our own destiny in the conference and didn’t execute tonight. It’s the approach shots that hurt us. We’re better than a 188.
“Alexis is coming around for us and Nikki played well tonight. You always want to win the NLC. But, I know my girls can rebound from this.”
Senior Elizabeth Meadows shot a 48 for Warsaw and junior Kristen Watson completed the team scoring with a 57. The Tigers are 11-2 overall on the season.
Michaela Searer led Concord, which drops to 6-9 overall and 2-5 in the NLC, with a 50.
Elizabeth Jackson of Wawasee keeps an eye on her drive.
“I think playing as well as we did on Wednesday helped us tonight,” added Coverstone. “Aubrey did a great job coming back the way she did. She got off to a tough start, but really played well after that. She went birdie, par, par, par the final four holes tonight.”
Sophomore Courtney McDaniel completed the Wawasee varsity lineup by shooting a 60.
Warsaw sophomore Aarshia Jain had a 63 for the Tigers.
The Warsaw junior varsity shot 231 Thursday. Wawasee only had three JV golfers and Concord two.
Miranda Domiano shot a 52 for the JV Tigers. Madi Graham had a 56, Page Desenberg 61 and Morgen Fuentes 62.
Wawasee competes in the Culver Academies Invitational Saturday at Swan Lake. Warsaw plays Culver at Mystic Hills on Monday.
Warsaw senior Nikki LaLonde sinks a short putt Thursday.