Gold - Conference 21 West Tournament

Posted: September 23, 2016
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchesester Star

FRONT ROYAL — Though Sherando was without 2014 Group 4A state champion Brett Loy at the season-opening Curly Licklickider Invitational at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club, the Woodgrove golf team made a pretty strong statement.

Playing on Sherando’s home course, the Wolverines four-player score of 305 was 33 strokes better than Sherando’s.

Over the ensuing seven weeks, a Warriors team with Loy finished behind Woodgrove in the three other tournaments in which they both competed.

But with Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club turning into a home away from home over the past week, Sherando was finally able to beat Woodgrove — and the Warriors did it when it mattered most.

The Warriors won the six-team Conference 21 West tournament by one stroke over the defending champion Wolverines on Thursday at Blue Ridge Shadows, recording a 321 total to Woodgrove’s 322.

Sherando’s title was its first in the postseason since winning the Northwestern District tournament in 2011.

"Woodgrove’s got everybody coming back next year, so I told [my golfers], ‘This is it, we’re going to have to do it this year,’" Sherando coach Rob Wright said. "When Brett came over and told me we’d won by one stroke, I said, ‘How many times in the four years [you’ve] been with me have we lost by one stroke?’

"[We missed] going to states by one stroke last year. I said [to him], ‘It feels good to be on the other side for a change.’"

Both teams — as well as the top six individuals outside those two teams — advance to the Oct. 4 4A West Region tournament at Algonkian Golf Club in Sterling.

Millbrook — which qualified seniors Andy Kim (82), Tyler Holtsclaw (84) and Joe Eisenhauer (89) for regionals — took third with a 358. Harrisonburg was fourth with a 363, Handley was fifth with a 376 and James Wood was sixth with a 390. Junior Tyler Mounts shot an 87 for the Colonels to qualify for regionals.

Loy, a senior, played the biggest role in Sherando’s win. His one-under 71 was seven strokes better than runner-up Kyle Potter of Woodgrove (78) and one stroke better than what he shot at the Sept. 15 Conference 21 West mini, also at Blue Ridge.

But he had plenty of help.

Senior Jonah Pearson (84) improved by two strokes from last week’s mini, and junior Ryan Judy (85) improved by four. Sherando also received an outstanding performance from senior Josh Bianco, who placed fifth with an 81 after tying for fourth in the mini tournament.

Overall, Sherando improved by two strokes after losing 319-323 to Woodgrove last week, and Loy said it had a lot to do with the Warriors’ attention to detail at Blue Ridge Shadows this week.

After winning Monday’s nine-hole Northwestern District mini with a 164 at the course, Sherando practiced at Blue Ridge Shadows each of the last two days, taking on the back nine on Tuesday and the front nine on Wednesday.

"We practiced a lot out here," said Loy, who repeated as C21 West champion. "We went over where to place the ball on the fairway, and the spots to hit on the green. I think it helped everybody. "

Wright said he felt Wednesday’s practice at Blue Ridge Shadows was one of the best that the team had all year. Wright said Loy, Bianco and Pearson worked by themselves while Wright aided the other three starters on course strategy and management.

"I gave them things to think about when they go through it — ‘Get a game plan. What are you going to use on every tee box?’ Things like [that]," Wright said. "They’re young, so that was something we hoped would help them out."

Wright and Loy were particularly pleased with Judy. The Warriors haven’t been able to get a consistent fourth score this year beyond their top three seniors, but Judy provided one of the best ones all year outside of that trio.

"It was really nice to see him come through," Loy said. "He’s been really practicing hard."

What helped Loy out on Thursday was a driving desire to not let his teammates down.

Loy was 1-over and without a birdie on the front nine. But his birdie on the par-3 12th kicked off a stretch of four birdies in six holes. Loy also birdied the par-5 14th and 16th holes and the par-4 17th.

"I only hit two greens on the front, but once I got to the back I started to focus a little bit more," Loy said. "On No. 12, I made a 25-footer that set the tone for the back nine and gave me some confidence going forward.

"I didn’t want to be the cause [of Sherando not winning], so I just buckled down and tried to focus. I was hitting fairways and sticking to the game plan. We’ve lost to [Woodgrove] so many times, so it feels good to come out on top."

Millbrook coach Mark Manspile said he was pleased with how his seniors played on the Pioneers’ home course.

"They’ve worked hard all year, and it’s paying off for them," Manspile said. "We talked about peaking at this time of the year, and they’re doing that."

Kim tied for seventh at last week’s mini with an 83.

"That really boosted me up, and I think that’s why was able to play well today," Kim said. "I just tried to be consistent."

Handley was led by Maddi Neff (91) and Gregg Burton, who was one of three Judges who shot a 95. Burton won a four-golfer playoff for the second regional alternate spot (Neff is the first).

"That’s by far the best score that Maddi has shot on this course," Handley coach David Scott said. "She’s adjusting to different courses and starting to play well on all of them, and not just the courses she’s comfortable on. We’ve got three freshmen and one sophomore, so hopefully we’ll keep improving."

After having to replace five of his top six this season, James Wood coach David Oates said he’s looking forward to next season, and looking forward to seeing what Mounts does at regionals.

"We’ll have a lot more experience, because we’re not losing anyone," Oates said. "Tyler is playing with house money next week. Nobody expects him to move on. It’s more of an open course. We’ll work on his driver and some on his short game, and we’ll just have fun and see what happens."

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