The Lady Titan golf team competed Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. The State Golf Tournament consists of two days of golfing in which the girls played 18 holes on Friday. Then, they played another 18 holes on Saturday. The Lady Titans finished the round-up with a 224, completing the season 17th among the competition. 

Senior Madilyn Sperling led the Lady Titans with a score of 38. Sophomore Haley Hughes shot a total score of 52. Senior Vanessa Schmitt tallied a score of 59. In fourth for the Lady Titans was senior Adryauna Redden, who shot a score of 75. Finishing in fifth for the women was junior Katelyn Walker, who scored 91.

According to head coach Kristen Harpenau, there were some problematic conditions the girls faced; however, they managed it well.

“They faced many challenges, like bent grass, cold weather and lots of sand traps,” she said. “They adapted very well.”

Schmitt thought this was one of the tougher courses they have played. She thought the team played to full potential and enjoyed the experience.

“Overall, the Prairie View Golf Course was definitely a challenge for us,” Schmitt said. “It made us all choose wisely about every shot we took. We all played to our potential as much as possible and the temperature up there helped us out a lot, being able to play through 18 holes each day. Even though we placed 17th, it was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience together.”

Playing 18 holes is a different tournament experience, which may have taken a toll on the Lady Titans.

“We had not played many 18-hole tournaments to prepare us for the amount of golf that we had to play,” Hughes said. “We did have fun though.”

Despite playing some difficult courses in southern Indiana, Hughes thought the course was a challenge.

“The course was somewhat difficult,” she said. “If you hit just a little short, far, left or right you would be in trouble. The greens were also very quick compared to normal.”

The Lady Titans were able to compete at the State Tournament after qualifying with their 3rd place finish at the Washington Regional. The girls shot a team score of 355, which tied Jasper for third. Walker’s score of 97 bested Jasper’s 5th place finisher to win the tiebreaker by one stroke. At the Regional, Sperling shot a score of 85, Hughes shot a score of 87, Schmitt shot a score of 88 and Redden shot a score of 95. 

Harpenau thought that the team performed well at Regional and had a surprising finish at the end to top it all off.

“Regionals went better than expected,” Harpenau said. “We knew we had a chance to advance, yet it was still a shock when we found out we beat the tie with Jasper with our 5th player’s score.”

This was a season of hard work, but it paid off for the Lady Titans.

“I think the season went great overall,” Walker said. “Everyone put in extra practice to improve their scores from the beginning of the season. All of our hard work paid off and led us to the State Finals.”

As a coach, it’s always a fantastic experience to compete at the state level, and Harpenau is no different.

“All of the girls have worked hard to improve their game, and I am so proud of all of them,” Harpenau said. “It has been an honor to be their coach this year.”