After providing a lesson on how to excel on the golf course despite tough conditions, Stevenson’s Emily Duan quickly departed for her own educational session.
Due to the unexpected late start of Wednesday’s North Suburban meet because of early morning rain, Duan’s golf outing crept closer to another pressing engagement.
“I had to leave to work on my English essay,” Duan said.
Duan, a sophomore, successfully defended her North Suburban championship by carding a 39 in a rain-shortened, nine-hole event at Glen Flora Country Club in Waukegan. Duan edged out Warren’s Sydney Bornhorst and Stevenson teammates Allie Santos and Sophia Zhuang, all by one stroke.
The Patriots had a dominating effort to win the conference championship for the third season in a row with a team score of 161. Five of their six golfers finished in the top six.
Lake Forest placed second with a 187, Lake Zurich took third with a 188 and Warren finished fourth with a 195.
Duan, in her first time playing at Glen Flora, said the conditions challenged her mentally and physically.
“I was kind of freezing because I don’t wear a jacket when I play,” she said. “I was really cold. But I’ve been hitting (the ball) farther this year, so that helped a lot considering the conditions. It made the course longer.”
The Patriots enter the postseason brimming with optimism for another run at a state title, mainly because their entire lineup returned after placing fifth in Class 2A last season. Duan wrapped up a stellar freshman year by notching seventh at state, and Joyce Bai, who was sixth at the conference meet Wednesday, took 25th at state.
“Next up is regionals, and I hope our team is able to do as well as we did last year, maybe even better,” Duan said.
The Patriots also welcomed the addition of Santos, a promising freshman.
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“We were very fortunate to return every kid this year,” Stevenson coach Emma Degen said. “The addition of Allie has been a perfect fit.
“But our goal at the beginning of the year was to make a point to not talk about that stuff of expectations and state. We were able to get the job done today. Regionals are coming up, and that’s our focus. We’ve made a point not to discuss it.”
Bornhorst solid in 2nd: Bornhorst, a junior, built some momentum for regionals. She was one of just four golfers to card a 40 or better.
“Sydney maintained great focus and put a good score out there that shows what she’s truly capable of,” Warren coach Leigh Ann Mondrawickas-Boncher said. “She’s been playing some of her best golf recently, and I hope it continues into the posteason.”
DeBruler seeks late-season run: Like most of the golfers, Libertyville senior Payton DeBruler struggled finding consistency on the wet course. The senior posted a team-best 45 to help the Wildcats place fifth with a 197. Courtney Simpson was the only other Libertyville golfer to finish in the 40s with a 47.
“I felt I could’ve done better, but it was so wet on the course,” DeBruler said. “I felt I made some decent shots. I just have to keep my head down and keep improving with each shot, if I want to do my best in regionals and sectionals.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.