THE MEET: The 44th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls State Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 12-13, at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis. Competition will begin at 8 a.m. on both days. Sunday practice tee time assignments are available on the girls golf homepage of the WIAA website.
STATE MEET STREAMED LIVE: The ninth and 18th holes of the WIAA State Girls Golf Championships at University Ridge will be streamed live with a subscription to the NFHS Network at www.nfhsnetwork.com. To order a subscription, go to www.nfhsnetwork.com/subscribe/retail.
THE FORMAT: The competition features a two division format with 12 teams and an additional 18 individual qualifiers competing in Division 1, and six teams and an 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, Eau Claire Memorial, Franklin, Green Bay Preble, Homestead, Middleton, Milton, Notre Dame, Onalaska, Union Grove and Verona. The team qualifiers in Division 2 are Arcadia, Edgewood, Fox Valley Lutheran, Hayward, Spooner and The Prairie School.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 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 senior Sydney Maule of Appleton North, junior Ashley Kulka of Beaver Dam, senior Nina Galang of Brookfield East, senior Megan Growt of De Pere, junior Alyssa Bee of Eau Claire North, seniors Amy Holzer and Chloe Volden of Hartford Union, junior Lexi Jonas of Hudson, senior Hannah Braun of Kimberly, senior Mikayla Hauck of Monona Grove, senior Kate Martin of Mukwonago, senior Ashley Hofmeister of New Berlin Eisenhower/West, junior Taylor McCorkle of Oregon, junior Jordann Handy of Oshkosh West, senior Ilayna Long of Tomah, junior Jessica Kuzniewski of Waukesha South/North/West, junior Katie Gastrau of Wauwatosa East/West and senior Clare Matkom of Whitefish Bay.
DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The nine individual qualifiers in Division 2 are freshman Annie Balduzzi of Aquinas, senior Natalie Feuerhelm of Ellsworth, junior Lori Meyer of Freedom, senior Bailey Schmidt of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, senior Kayla Thielen of Marinette, senior Emma Landry of St. Croix Central, senior Stanley Wang of St. Thomas More, sophomore Savanna Anderson of Stanley-Boyd and senior Ivy Fedewa of Wisconsin Dells.
LAST YEAR: Verona won the State Division 1 team title with a 36-hole score of 648, denying runner-up Arrowhead, which finished with a score of 656, of its second consecutive championship. Loren Skibba of Middleton won the individual championship by shooting a 147, four strokes fewer than Anika Hitt of Homestead. Edgewood won the Division 2 team title for the fourth straight year and for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons with a score of 659. Fox Valley Lutheran placed a distant second with a score of 715. Tess Hackworthy of Edgewood won individual medalist honors by shooting a 150. Teammate and defending champion Caroline Lake was second, shooting a 154.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 1: Senior Loren Skibba of Middleton is back seeking her second straight individual championship. She leads a quartet of returning competitors that placed in the top-10 last season. Seniors CheyAnn Knudsen of Milton and Bailey Smith of Verona are back to contend for the title after finishing in a tie for sixth place in 2014. Smith also finished 10th in 2013. Sophomore Speedy Kent of Homestead placed eighth in her first season and should be among the challengers for the title. Among the sectional champions hoping to be in the mix for medalist honors are seniors Nina Galang of Brookfield East, Megan Growt of De Pere, Kate Martin of Mukwonago and Hanna Rebholz of Verona; junior Lexi Jonas of Hudson; and freshman Emily Lauterbach of Arrowhead.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 2: A number of top finishers from a year ago return to contend for the individual championship. Senior Stanley Wang of St. Thomas More finished fourth a year ago, and senior Bailey Schmidt of Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau tied for sixth last season after placing eighth in 2013. Junior Lori Meyer of Freedom tied Schmidt for sixth last year and hopes to improve upon that this year. Senior Katie Arneson of Edgewood is another returner that finished within the top 10 last season, placing ninth. Freshman Gabby Tremblay of Hayward could also be in title contention after turning in a medalist performance at sectionals.
THROUGH THE YEARS: In the 43 years of the girls golf championships, Edgewood has won the most team championships with 13, 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 have added to the total in each of the past four years. 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. Homestead and Appleton West have won four team championships. Osceola has crowned the most individual medalists with eight and Madison Memorial is next in line with six individual champions.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: Rosters and qualifiers are available on the girls golf home page of the WIAA website at: http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/GirlsGolf.aspx.
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.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Golf Championships on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaagolf. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.
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Release by WIAA Communications