THE MEET: The 41st Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls State Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 8-9, at the Cherokee County Club in Madison, Wis. Competition will begin at 8 a.m. on both days. Sunday practice tee time assignments are posted on the WIAA Girls Golf State Tournament website.
THE FORMAT: The competition features a two division format with 12 teams and an additional 18 individual qualfiers competing in Division 1, and six teams and and additional nine individual qualifiers participating in Division 2. Competitors play 36 holes, weather permitting, including 18 holes on each day. The lowest scores from the first day will have the later tee times Tuesday.
TEAMS COMPETING: The schools qualifying for the State meet in Division 1 are Arrowhead, Brookfield Central, Brookfield East, De Pere, Homestead, Kettle Moraine, Madison Memorial, Middleton, Milton, New Richmond, Notre Dame and Tomah. Challenging for the Division 2 team title are Edgerton, Edgewood, Fox Valley Lutheran, Hayward, Osceola and The Prairie School.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Division 1 field consists of the top two teams from each of the six sectionals, and the Division 2 field includes the top two teams from three sectionals. Eighteen individuals in Division 1 and nine individuals in Division 2 qualify as the top three players in each sectional that are not members of a qualifying team.
DIVISION 1 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The 18 individuals who have qualified for the State meet in Division 1 are junior Olivia Robinson of Appleton North, sophomore Abby Chase of Beaver Dam, senior Rebecca Brielmaier of Divine Savior Holy Angels, junior Kaitlyn Alvarez of Eau Claire North, sophomore Maddy Neumeier of Green Bay Preble, junior Taylor Wyss of Janesville Parker, sophomore Alexa Laurino of Kimberly, senior Grace Onsrud of La Crosse Central/Logan, junior Abby Martin of Mukwonago, senior McKenzie Paul of Neenah, junior Emily Murphy of Nicolet, senior Heather Zuleger of Oshkosh West, senior Emily Bliske of Pius XI, senior Stephanie Baribeau of Rice Lake, junior Rebecca Klongland of Stoughton, sophomore Jessica Reinecke of Verona, senior Emily Joers of Waukesha South/North/West and junior Mandy Fiorentino of West Bend West/East.
DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The nine individual qualifiers in Division 2 are senior Heidi Hinz of Baldwin-Woodville, senior Naomi Black of Darlington/Cuba City, junior Meaghan Carney of Denmark, junior Haley Seifert of Ladysmith, senior Avery Steen of Luck/Unity, junior Abby Dufrane of Marinette, junior Erin Culver of McFarland, senior Danielle Langner of Osseo-Fairchild and sophomore Mikayla Smith of Xavier.
LAST YEAR: Homestead won its third team championship in girls golf by winning the Division 1 title with a score of 657. Milton finished runner-up with 682 strokes. Emily Joers of the Waukesha South/North/West co-op won the individual medalist championship by shooting a 36-hole score of 146, three strokes fewer than Leighann Cabush of Kettle Moraine. Edgewood won the Division 2 team title for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons with a score of 646. Defending champion The Prairie School placed second with 691 strokes. Casey Danielson of Osceola was medalist for the third straight year, shooting a 142. Edgewood’s Lexi Greytak finished second by shooting a 155.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 1: Senior Emily Joers of Waukesha South/North/West aims at retaining the medalist honor she earned in 2011. She also won the individual title in 2009 followed by a runner-up finish in 2010. Among those with experience at the State meet looking to challenge for medalist honors are senior Leighann Cabush of Kettle Moraine and junior Rebecca Klongland of Stoughton, who tied for second place in 2011. Seniors Stephanie Stair of Milton, Lauren Olson of Homestead and McKenzie Paul of Neenah may also contend for the individual crown, after placing fourth, seventh and eighth, respectively last season. Other possible contenders for individual medalist honors based on qualifying performances include senior Christine Tang of Brookfield Central, senior Rachel Morris of Homestead, senior Grace Onsrud of La Crosse Central/Logan, junior Jessie Staed of Notre Dame and sophomore Jessica Reinecke of Verona.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 2: Senior Casey Danielson of Osceola will compete to become just the second individual in State meet history to win four medalist honors. Her sister, Lindsay Danielson, was the first, earning medalist honors from 2005-08. Other top finishers from a year ago hoping to contend for the individual championship include senior Lexi Greytak of Edgewood, who was runner-up last year after a fourth-place finish in 2010; senior Brooke Ferrell of Edgerton, who placed third last season after finishing runner-up in 2010 and fifth in 2009; sophomores Caroline Lake and Tess Hackworthy of Edgewood, who finished fifth and seventh, respectively last season; junior Sienna Chapman and senior Nikki Isaacson of The Prairie School, who placed sixth and tied for eighth, respectively last year; senior Brittany Neff of Hayward, who tied for eighth in 2011; and senior Avery Steen of Luck/Unity, who was part of the three-way tie with Isaacson and Neff for eighth a year ago. Another qualifier that may contend for the top of the leaderboard is junior Abby Dufrane of Marinette based on her sectional performance. She tied for 11th a year ago.
THROUGH THE YEARS: In the 40 years of the girls golf championships, Edgewood has won the most team championships with 10, all coming since 2001. The Crusaders won two championships when only one division was offered in 2001-02 and the first seven Division 2 titles from 2003-09. They added their 10th crown in 2011. Madison West and La Crosse Central are tied for the second-most team titles with five. The Regents won the first five championships offered from 1972-76. The Red Raiders won four consecutive State titles from 1990-93 and added their fifth in 1998. Appleton West has won four team championships.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: Rosters and qualifiers are available on Tournament Information page on the girls golf home page of the WIAA website at: www.wiaawi.org.
NEED RESULTS?: Results are available on the WIAA website. Select the Tournament Information link on the Girls Golf State Results page to access the GolfStat results link for each division.
FOX SPORTS WISCONSIN TO STREAM STATE TOURNAMENTS: The ninth and 18th hole of the WIAA State Girls Golf Championships at University Ridge will be streamed live on foxsportswisconsin.com. Catch all the fall State Tournament action LIVE on foxsportswisconsin.com.