On September 25, the Riverside Brookfield High School girl’s golf team took home their first ever conference win in the Upstate Eight Conference. It was held at the St. Andrews Golf and Country Club in West Chicago.
There were six full teams as well as individuals there to compete. In total there were eight schools that were represented. Coach Doug Schultz explained the training leading up to the conference match.
“We have duals—that is an after school match that is a nine hole course—and then we have some non-conference matches that get you ready for your tournament time,” Schultz said. “Girls will play a conference tournament, which is 18 holes; that’s a full day of golf.”
It was weeks of training and perseverance, but the girls ended up undefeated throughout their season going into conference. Senior Lucy Drenth shares her experience leading up to the conference match and the difficult challenges that came with it.
“Leading up to the conference, we were all mostly just focused on bettering our game and fine tuning things that could help us finish on top,” Drenth said. “This is the first time the girl’s golf team has won conference in RB history, so we were all really excited and nervous. It wasn’t necessarily difficult physically, but the mental aspect of golfing at any time is difficult, especially leading up to a big event like this.”
Although leading up to the conference might have been stressful, the huge win was very fulfilling to the team as a whole. Senior Ella Jurgens expressed her feelings towards the win.
“I was really excited,” Jurgens said. “That was the first time we’d won conference in general, and the fact that I was part of the team was fun. It was just nice to share that with my friends. Everyone has gotten super close on the team.”
Schultz also shared his feelings to the girls winning the first ever conference title in RB history.
“I feel great,” Schultz said. “I mean, it was wonderful to sit back and watch that happen. I think that this group is special because it is a team mentality. In the past, we’ve had very good individual golfers but did not have that group of six or eight girls to be one of our top scorers. It was very fulfilling to see a team like that perform for the entire year so close.”
The girls have had a successful season and have grown a deeper bond with each other. They have made many memories this season and were able to connect with each other as a whole. Senior Maddie Gilhooley shared what qualities allow teammates to be able to have these bonds.
“Being able to stay committed, showing up, and being supportive is what makes a good teammate,” Gilhooley said.
For next year, Schultz’s goal is to continue with four returning varsity girls and have new girls join, as well as JV girls shifting up. Senior Taryn Schultz shares her advice to any girls wanting to join.
“I’d say just try it out,” Schultz said. “You don’t need to have experience to play golf, and you can always get better with practice.”
