Throughout the season, the women’s varsity golf team focuses on becoming 18-hole ready and places second in the MAC Red division.
“Ending our season with a winning record was our biggest accomplishment. We were 7-2, which was a huge improvement from last year when we were 5-5,” sophomore Emanuella Micakovic said.
The whole team improved its regional score by 32 strokes compared to the previous year. This season marked Micakovic’s second consecutive state qualification, where she placed sixth. She shot 12 strokes less at regionals this season.
“My best moment would definitely be my last hole at states. I drained a 20-foot putt for birdie to shoot a 79, which was really important to me because it meant I shot under 80 at every single tournament this year,” Micakovic said.
Micakovic routinely took the lead and often helped others on their golf swings. She instilled confidence in her teammates and encouraged them to play their best, so their scores complement each other, according to Varsity Girls Golf Head Coach Douglass Hartley.
“Micakovic encouraged not just one of us, but all of us. She’s always there to lend a helping hand. At times, if someone struggled with their swing, she would encourage them to try different grips to fix the problem,” junior Isabella Devine said.
A major team focus involved celebrating each success, no matter how big or small. Each golfer supported teammates who struggled, either through words of encouragement or by shooting a better score to help the team overall, according to Hartley.
“We made sure to celebrate each big or small success. For example, whenever we won a match, we always celebrated by going out to eat because it pushed us harder to win the next win and made us focus on what we could do better too,” junior Isabella Devine said.
Defeating Dakota High School, one of their toughest competitors and the highest ranked team in the MAC Red, marked one of the team’s biggest highlights of the season.
“Looking ahead into next year, our goal is to qualify for the state finals as a team. Last year, we tied with Romeo for the final qualifying spot but lost in the playoffs. This year, we shot 32 strokes better but finished fifth,” Hartley said. “This meant that although we improved dramatically, our competition improved even more. Throughout the offseason and next year, we are going to focus on the part of the game where we lose strokes and improve all the weak points in our game.”
