Ray, Hildebrand Shine On Senior NightMadelyn Ray and Julia Hildebrand saved their best for last.
Playing in their final regular season match at Stonehenge, the pair of Warsaw senior golfers shot the best 9-hole rounds of their prep careers Thursday, leading the Lady Tigers to a 22-stroke win over the visiting Manchester Lady Squires on senior night.
Ray shot a 4-over par 39 on Stonehenge's front side and earned medalist honors, while Hildebrand carded a 41.
En route to beating Manchester 169-191, the Lady Tigers shot their best 9-hole team score of coach Tad Nieter's four-year tenure, beating their previous best by eight strokes.
“It's been a good week of practice,” said Nieter, whose team improved to 11-4 on the season. “We kind of struggled on Saturday at our own invitational. We kind of revamped practice, and everything in practice now has to do with competition, where the girls are really focusing and I think that has helped us.
“Tonight Madelyn Ray shot a 39, that's her first time breaking 40. I'm really proud of her, especially being senior night, perfect timing for her. If we want to do anything in the postseason we've got to have her playing really well.
“Julia Hildebrand, she put in over 200 hours this summer, so it doesn't surprise me that she's hitting her stride like this.”
Seniors Izzy Ray and Miriam Hagg shot 44 and 45, respectively, for the Lady Tigers, while junior Grayson Kilburn rounded out the lineup with a 47.
Thursday’s round boosted Warsaw’s confidence as postseason play approaches.
The Lady Tigers have just one regular season match left, a date with Triton and Whitko on Tuesday at Sycamore Golf Club in North Manchester.
Warsaw will play in the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament Saturday at Black Squirrel in Goshen, where the Lady Tigers are No. 4 in the league standings with a 4-3 record.
“We’re ranked fourth right now (in the conference). We’re looking to post a number and get up there, and see what we can do,” Nieter said of Saturday’s eight-team conference tournament.
“Our girls took a practice round at Black Squirrel Sunday. They all feel very confident going there.”
For the Lady Squires, who fell to 8-2 in dual matches this season, Thursday’s match at Stonehenge was a final tuneup before Saturday’s Three Rivers Conference match at Norwood Country Club in Huntington.
“It wasn’t our best round tonight. We played really well (Wednesday) at Norwood, where our conference tournament is,” said Manchester coach Josh Troyer.
“The greens are a little slower (at Norwood), a little different setup, so I’m not too concerned with the results tonight. It just wasn’t our best round.”
Kelsey Eichenauer led the Lady Squires with a 42, while Madyson Ulrey carded a 47, Cora Barnett a 50 and Alissa Bickerstaff a 52.
Morgan Stroud rounded out Manchester’s lineup with a 60.
The Lady Squires haven’t lost a TRC match in nearly three years, and the focus is playing well on Saturday at Norwood.
“We haven’t lost a conference match in almost three years, we’re pretty proud of that,” said Troyer.
“Maconaquah is really good this year, they’ve had some really good scores. Wabash is right up there. Northfield has had some good rounds. It won’t be easy for us, so we’ve just got to continue to battle, be ready to play, go through our mental stuff. We could get some weather on Saturday, I’ve been watching that. We’ve got to handle the conditions and not get frustrated by them. If it’s wet, it’s wet. That’s out of our control.”
The Lady Tigers had 10 JV girls who played Thursday night.
Marie Frazzetta shot a 46, leading Warsaw to a season-best, four-person score of 191.
Delaney Byron shot 47 for the JV squad, while teammate Sydney Lancaster finished with a 48.
WARSAW 169, MANCHESTER 191
(Stonehenge, par 35)
Medalist – Madelyn Ray (War) 39
Warsaw – Madelyn Ray 39, Julia Hildebrand 41, Izzy Ray 44, Miriam Hagg 45, Grayson Kilburn 47
Manchester – Kelsey Eichenauer 42, Madyson Ulrey 47, Cora Barnett 50, Alissa Bickerstaff 52, Morgan Stroud 60
Records: Warsaw 11-4, Manchester 8-2
JV – Warsaw 191
Warsaw – Marie Frazzetta 46, Delaney Byron 47, Sydney Lancaster 48, Anna Morgan 50, Brooklyn Fitzgerald 58, Izzy Vantwoud 57, Bethany Johnson 58, Kalista Bartol 77, Alicia Johnson 84, Peri Britton 84
