Westlake boys trailing by 3
Lake Travis girls team overwhelms the fifield, leads by nine strokes.
Westlake freshman Reid Davenport capped his first round of the state golf tournament with a 60-foot eagle on the 18th hole.
A gathering of Chaparrals fans was still buzzing about Davenport’s shot when sophomore Reese Ramsey closed his round 15 minutes later with an 8-foot birdie putt.
That strong finish gives Westlake an opportunity to defend the Class 6A boys championship when the final round begins about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Legacy Hills Golf Course.
“You can’t win the tourna- ment on the first day, but you can shoot yourself out of it,” Westlake coach Callan Nokes said. “You’ve got to be close, though, and we’re there.”
Led by Ramsey’s 71, Westlake’s team score of 291 puts the Chaps three shots behind Southlake Carrol l and one behind The Woodlands.
In the girls competition, Lake Travis overwhelmed
the field, shooting a 295, nine strokes ahead of second-place Montgomery. Senior Kaitlyn Papp shot a 70 and junior Kristen Gillman a 72 on a muggy afternoon. Ann Parmerter and Lauren Comegys contibuted to the scoring with rounds of 76 and 77, respectively. Morgan Lay shot a 78.
Gillman, coming off a weekend appearance at the LPGA Classic in San Franc i sco, said winning state — to complement the Cavaliers’ 2013 UIL championship — would mean more than winning individually.
“I feel like we came here as a team and it’s been our goal all year to win state,” sai d Gillman, whose birdie on the 18th hole gave her an even-par round.
As for the boys, Davenport’s eagle allowed him to finish with an even- par 72. Other Westlake golfers who figured in the team scoring were Henrik Olsson and Nick Costello, who both shot a 74. Trevor Brown finished with a 76.
Davenport, who won the Region II-6A indivi dual championship in Waco, used momentum from that victory in Monday’s state round.
“That was a big confidence boost for me,” he said. “It showed me I can compete with the big boys.”
Davenport sai d his goal is to win three state championships before he graduates in 2018. His round on Monday included a birdie, an eagle, three bogeys and 13 pars.
The 18th-hole heroics by Davenport and Ramsey give Westlake mo- mentum heading into the final round.
“Those shots were huge for us because we had just made a complete mess out of 17,” Nokes sai d. “Overall, it was a good first round. We’re in position to win.”
Also Monday, Lake Travis junior Dillon Baxter, bound for SMU, shot an opening-day 77.
The best round of the day belonged to Montgomery freshman Hailee Cooper, who carded a 68.