With college settled, Freyvogel now focused
Tri-State Sports & News Service
A few months ago, Lauren Freyvogel had her future mapped out.
Then things took a sharp turn to the northeast.
Freyvogel, a Pine-Richland senior and reigning PIAA Class 3A individual golf champion, had committed last year to play collegiately at Virginia. But when head coach Kim Lewellen left the Cavaliers program for Wake Forest, new coach Ria Scott rescinded her scholarship offer, which threw her into a panic.
“She told us about two weeks ago that she wasn’t going to honor my scholarship as well as the other 2019 scholarships,” Freyvogel said. “It was actually right before I played in a tournament in Baltimore.”
All things considered, it didn’t take long for one of the best players in the WPIAL to find a new home.
In one of the quickest recruiting turnarounds imaginable, Freyvogel accepted an offer to play at Penn State just a week after she was forced to reopen her recruiting.
“The coach [Denise St. Pierre] was out in Ireland watching a junior event and she came back and gave me an offer on the spot. I accepted it right after it came out of her mouth and I was so excited,” Freyvogel said. “I can’t wait to play for such a great school.”
One thing Freyvogel did have to do was completely restructure her clothing choices. Gone are all the orange and blue apparel she purchased over the past year, which she is supplanting with the blue and white of the Nittany Lions.
“We’re working on it,” Freyvogel said. “We kind of had to replace about half of my wardrobe, but I’ll get there.”
In the meantime, she will have a couple of months to put this all behind her and concentrate on her main goal which is to repeat as state champion.
“I’m looking forward to defending my state title in October. That’s pretty much what I’ll be playing for all season,” Freyvogel said.
“I’m getting my game ready and getting my putter hot and, hopefully, I’ll be ready late in October.”
North Catholic
Concussions have been a bane to Madie Smithco throughout her life.
She had two when she was younger, which made her more susceptible to head trauma and suffered a third earlier this year which has kept her off the golf course for much of the summer.
“I’ve been dealing with it for most of the summer so, tournament, I really haven’t been able to do much with that. I’ve just been trying to practice my game and try to make it stronger,” Smithco said. “I’m playing in my first tournament this weekend, so I’m just trying to get back into tournament-mode for states.”
In her first two years, the North Catholic junior has made an indelible mark.
As a freshman, she tied Olivia Zambruno of Greensburg Central Catholic for second in the WPIAL Class 2A individual finals, two shots behind champion Kiaria Porter of Central Valley before finishing second to Zambruno in the state finals. Last year, she was once again in a secondplace tie in the WPIAL championships — this time with Porter — one shot behind Tatum McKelvey of Sewickley Academy before capturing the state title in a playoff against Vileska Gelpi of Rockwood.
Because she hasn’t competed as the head motion of her golf swing can cause headaches and make her eyes blur, Smithco has no real feel for where her game is as she heads into the season.
“It’s really sad because I had tournaments scheduled throughout March and April and just not being able to go was hard for me. I’ve tried to make the best of it and tried to practice as much as I can,” Smithco said. “Not playing in tournaments, I think it’s going to be harder for me at WPIALs and states because I’m not used to that pressure as much as I was.”
It’s not just her golf game that has been affected.
“I have problems with my vision so, in school, when I have to read, it makes my headache get really bad,” Smithco said. “It makes it hard for me to stay on the golf course for four hours.”
Frazier was one of four teams that moved up in classification The Shaler tournament, for the 2018 season, which used to be the biggest but the Commodores regular-season tournament are still favorites in their during the girls season, is section. notbeing held this year.
After winning or sharing “When I took over in the Class 1A Section 2 title April,I found that we had no for the past nine years, Frazier more than five teams lined has moved up to Class up for this year’s tournament,” 2A Section 3, along with said new coach Paul Beth-Center, Brownsville, Stadelman. “It would be unfair Charleroi, McGuffey, to the teams if we had Southmoreland andsuch a small field. So I decided Waynesburg. to take a one-year hiatus
“I looked at last year’s from the tournament. WPIAL brackets and saw As soon as the season is that this section doesn’t over, I will send a mass email have a lot of respect in Class to the coaches to see if 2A,” Frazier coach Mandy we can get the tournament Hartman said. “The top two backnext year.” finishers, Waynesburg and Stadelman is making his Beth-Center, had pigtail debut as Shaler’s girls head matches in the bracket, so coach. He has been the Titans neitherwas seeded.” boys coach for seven
Frazier placed third in years. And he has been the WPIAL last season in coaching volleyball, at all Class1A. levels, for 27 years.
“We didn’t have a senior “It was really disappointing on that team, so everybody to cancel the tournament isback,” Hartman said. “We this year,” Stadelman expect to do well is this conference.” said. “I served as girls assistant under Kris Ruppert
Frazier will find out right andwe had 28 teams playing away how strong the conference on seven courts at three different is. The Commodores, schools. That’s how who are led by junior outside bigthe tournament was.” hitter Skye Eicher, play Shaler will open the season Tuesday at Waynesburg in at the Mt. Lebanon tournament. theirsection opener.