Girls golf: Neuqua gets past Red Devils

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PLAINFIELD -- The Neuqua Valley Wildcats girls golf team might not have had picture-perfect rounds Wednesday at Naperbrook Golf Course, but it did have picture-perfect conditions as it beat nonconference foe Hinsdale Central 173-181.

Neuqua's No. 1 golfer, Hannah Buck, was the medalist with a 36 for nine holes.

"I think my round went well and I started off birdieing the first hole by hitting a nice drive into the center of the fairway and making a nice 10-foot putt," Buck said. "It was really beautiful outside and knowing the course really helps. This summer I didn't play well at all and now I just feel like I'm starting to play better. I'm now doing fine and our team is doing well right now."

Buck's score was four strokes lower than the rest of the field and six strokes better than teammate Chloe Nettleton, who posted the third best score of the meet with 42.

"Hannah didn't have a good summer by her standards, but at the end of the summer I felt she was hitting the ball perfectly and starting to score well," Neuqua coach John Keller said.

"In golf you just need one thing right to happen to turn things around and I think that happened to her. She's in a groove now and it started in tryouts. She's hit the ball more consistently than she has ever had."

Therese Long shot a 46 and Olivia Suber shot a 49 to complete the Wildcats' scoring.

While the 173 was a definite improvement from the last match the Wildcats played, Keller believes that as the season progresses he'll see an even stronger team on the course.

"It is another solid score for us (the 173) but it is still a little hard for us to know in terms of what type of team we have.

We have two girls that have played (a lot of) varsity and three to six girls who have played some varsity, but I wouldn't call it really a lot of experience," Keller said. "They will play in a lot of matches this year and there will be some inconsistency. That's something we have to accept but I believe that we will be playing our best ball toward the end of the season."

Neuqua improved its dual-match record to 2-0 this season.

"Hinsdale Central has always been one of the top teams in the state and has had one of the top golfers in the state. To beat a team of their caliber is a feather in our cap," Keller said. "We should be really happy with this win and we have developed a rivalry that has gone back and forth. We see them a ton during the year and even though we beat them today, it can change later on in the year."

The Red Devils knew they were going to face adversity even before they stepped onto the first hole tee box.

Hinsdale Central came to Naperbrook without having its No. 2 golfer, forcing Red Devils coach Nancy Ahitow to shift around her lineup.

"I'm missing my No. 2 golfer so it is tough to judge our overall performance," she said. "On my team we have two really good golfers and the rest are inexperienced."

Samantha Postillion led the way for the Red Devils, scoring a 40.