The Catawba Ridge girls golf team finished second by five strokes in the 4A Upper State tournament Monday at the Saulda Valley Country Club in Williamston.
The Copperheads shot a 339 to Pickens 334 as Eileen Zeoli and Katherine Mann led the field in finishing first and second in the one-day, 18-hole tournament.
“We can build on that,” said Catawba Ridge head girls golf coach Chris Powers. “We still have a great chance to win it.”
Zeoli led the tournament field with a 76 and Mann was right behind her with a 77. They were followed by an 85 from Reagan Lynch and a 101 by Anjali Peddisetty.
The top eight teams from the Upper State tournament will join the top eight from the Lower State tournament at The Golf Club at Hilton Head Lakes in Hardeeville for the two-day, 36-hole 4A state tournament Oct. 24 and 25.
In the 5A Upper State tournament held at Chester Golf Club Monday, both Fort Mill and Nation Ford failed to qualify for the 5A state tournament held Oct. 25 and 26 at Holly Tree Country Club in Simpsonville. Dorman won the Upper State event with a 298 team score.
The local schools won’t be without representation as four individuals from teams that didn’t qualify are allowed to play in the tournament. For Nation Ford that is Vivian Harris and for Fort Mill that is Mackenzie Finn.
Both golfers led their respective teams Monday at Chester. Nation Ford finished ninth, just missing the eight-team cut off, shooting a 346. The eighth place Gaffney shot a 341, edging them by five strokes.
“It just wasn’t enough,” said Nation Ford head girls golf coach Amelio Rodriguez. “We played great. Every girl improved their score from last week.”
Last week, Nation Ford shot a 362 to finish second in the Region 3-5A tournament also held at Chester. On Monday, they improved their score by 16 strokes. Harris shot a 73. She was followed by a 90 from Sara McCaskill and a 91 by Piper Sabino. Katie Griggs finished the scoring with a 92.
Fort Mill finished 12th overall with a 364. They improved their score by three strokes from last week.
“I through it would be there (around 364),” said Fort Mill head girls coach Sims Reeves. “The scores are getting so much better.”
For the Jackets, it was Finn who led with an 80. Her score was followed by a 90 from Cayla Cappuzzo and a 91 from Sam Benton. Ava Starosky shot a 103 to finish the scoring for Fort Mill.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
