Girls golf: Redhawks rise to occasion

Naperville Central sophomore Emma Ondik watches a chip shot during her round in a meet against Benet and Downers Grove South at Naperbrook Golf Club in Naperville.
(Jonathan Miano/Naperville Sun)

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PLAINFIELD -- When Naperville Central got hit with a subpar scorecard early in Thursday's girls golf meet against Benet and Downers Grove North at Naperbrook, Redhawks coach Jane Thompson knew her team needed to step up if it was going to win.

And it did.

Led by meet medalist Carolyn Wong, the Redhawks shot a team score of 184 and defeated Benet by eight strokes (192) and Downers Grove North by 17 strokes (201).

"The strength of our team is our depth and tonight our sophomores came through. Carolyn (Wong), Emma (Ondik) and Megan (Philipp) are all sophomores. What that does for our team is allow all of our players to play relaxed because at any time our No. 1 through our No. 6 players can score really well," Thompson said. "Katherine (Gausmann, team's No. 1 golfer) was slow out of the gate today, but she finished strong and she knew that great players were behind her."

Wong's 42 was two shots better than her sophomore teammate and second-place finisher Ondik.

"So far I've been playing OK but today I've played much better than what I have been playing. I played more consistently today and hit it generally where I wanted it. Not having any three-putts really helped out as well," Wong said.

One of the highlights of Wong's round was making a birdie at the 120-yard, par 3 hole. She was the only Redhawk to make a birdie on the hole.

"I hit a nice shot onto the green and then hit about a 20-foot putt to get the birdie," Wong said. "Having a good hole like that boosts your confidence for the round and it is nice to have on your scorecard."

Benet's Kara Cooper and Sarah Gaspar each led Benet with a 46.

"Today I didn't feel like I played my best. Some of my drives were a little off and I seemed to shank them to the right a bit," Cooper said.

"But today we had a great performance from a lot of our girls and I'm really excited for the rest of the season."

Cooper, who was a No. 3 or 4 player last year, has been forced to step up due to the number of quality seniors who graduated last season.

"Sure, being the No. 1 golfer now is a little nerve-racking, but I feel I do well under pressure," Cooper said.