The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Eagle golfer headed for state tournament
HUDSON >> There is only one area golfer left standing after the Division I district golf tournament at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club on Oct. 7, Avon’s Bua Wattanauanichakorn.
Wattanauanichakorn finished her round with a score of 79 that was good enough to secure the final individual spot, beating out Green’s Rachel Didonato by one stroke.
The junior exchange student from Thailand joined the Eagles midseason and has been on a tear ever since. She helped push the Eagles to a Southwestern Conference championship shooting a 76 at the tournament Sept. 6.
She followed that performance up with another 76 at the Division I sectional tournament Oct. 7, which was the top score.
“She is one of the best players on our team,” Avon coach Kaitlin Neumann said. “She came in with a pretty great background in golf, she’s been playing since she was seven years old, and her game is really good. And I know she’s taught the girls a lot this season.”
The Eagles as a team finished ninth behind SWC rival Olmsted Falls, but Neumann is hoping that the experience her team gained in their sectionals run will carry over to next season when Wattanauanichakorn returns home.
“I really hope this motivates them, by showing them what they’re capable of doing and how hard work really does pay off,” Neumann said. “This is a sport where one day you’re going to go out in 35 and the next day you’ll shoot a 42. So hopefully heading into this next season we can put in some more work and come back better and stronger.”
Olmsted Falls finished in seventh place as team two strokes behind the final state qualifying team, Hathaway Brown.
The Bulldogs were led by senior Samantha Torres and junior Alyson Veverka, who finished with scores of 81 and 83 respectively. Torres finished in ninth place after a top-five finish at the Sweetbriar District and a second-place finish at the SWC tournament.
Avon Lake, the only other area team to make the tournament, finished in 15th place led by junior Lauren Hawkinson, who carded a round of 96,
a week after shooting a 91 at the Sweetbriar tournament.
The lone area individual qualifier, Amherst senior Ayalis Vicens, finished her round with a score of 113. Vicens secured a spot in the district tournament following a 94 at Sweetbriar that saw her have the lowest back nine score out of the 80-plus golfers that participated.
Team qualifiers for the state tournament were Massillon Jackson (334), Green (337), North Canton Hoover (340) and Kent Roosevelt (350).
Individuals who qualified for the state tournament were Uniontown Lake’s Olivia Swain (76), GlenOak’s Madison Reemsnyder (77), Medina Highland’s Alessandra Goyette and Wattanauanichakorn.
The Avon junior now awaits a trip to the state tournament in Columbus on Oct. 19.