Beaumont golf team qualifies for district

Under second year coach and NDCL graduate Talia Trovato, the Blue Streaks improved their standing at the sectional tournament from eighth to third over last year and will be playing next week.

Six years have passed since Talia Trovato last played golf at Notre DameCathedral Latin, but the postseason butterflies are just as big — if not bigger — than they were then.

As scores went up on the board at the Division II sectional tournament earlier this week at Punderson, the second-year Beaumont coach stood riveted as each scorecard was posted, hoping that her Blue Streaks’ day on the course was good enough for a district tournament berth.

All the while, her players weren’t anywhere near as nervous.

“I was the nervous one,” Trovato said. “They were all chilling and doing homework.”

When the final scores went up, Trovato’s nerves were eased. Her Blue Streaks placed third as a team, clinching the first district tournament team berth in program history.

“It’s so exciting,” Trovato said. “They played so well. All I wanted was for my seniors to play one more time.”

Beaumont was led by freshman Lauren Bangasser’s 83, followed by senior Natalie Noble (84), junior Nyomi Morris (98), sophomore Katherine Foerg (126) and senior Olivia Panichi (136). Both Noble and Bangasser posted personal-best rounds.

“Some of the best memories I have are playing golf and going on to the next round in the tournament,” Trovato said. “I’m so happy the girls get to experience what I did.”

Trovato was on some tremendous teams as a golfer at NDCL. In 2009, she was a member of the Lions’ team that won the D-II state championship in a landslide at Ohio State University’s Gray Course. NDCL posted a two-day score of 658, topping second-place Poland by 19 strokes and third-place St. Paris Graham by 29 strokes. Junior Nicole Trivisonno (161) was 11th overall, freshman Emily Jereb (164) was 13th and sophomore Trovato (166) was 17th.

Trovato went on to play golf at Ursuline College, where she earned her undergraduate degree in biology. Her career and passion have since taken a different turn, though, as she is taking classes in culinary arts with an eye on having her own restaurant someday.

And she’s back on the golf course — this time as a coach.

“This team has just taken off,” she said of her second year with the program. “Last year at sectionals, we didn’t do too well. We were eighth. This year we were third. It’s a big improvement.”

Trovato has high goals for the program going forward.

“I told them when I was in their position, it was the mentality that everything before sectionals was practice,” Trovato said. “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. It’s a practice round for the postseason. That’s when the season starts to matter.”