Dublin Jerome takes second at Division I state girls golf; New Albany's title streak ends
Three teams jockeyed back and forth for the lead on the final day of the Division I girls golf state tournament at Ohio State's Gray Course, including a familiar power that took the early advantage.
Dublin Jerome and New Albany hung with Centerville until the final few holes, when a strong finish for Elks senior Morgan Rodgers proved to be the clincher as her team won its first title in 27 years on Oct. 22 and dethroned four-time defending champion New Albany in the process.
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Rodgers’ round of 74 and a two-day total of 151 led Centerville to a team score of 613, one shot ahead of runner-up Jerome and eight ahead of third-place New Albany.
Audrey Ryu’s runner-up score of 143, 70 on the first day Oct. 21 and 73 in the final round, paced the Celtics. Ryu won the individual title last season.
“New Albany, us and Centerville, I think we flip-flopped in the lead for 13, 14 or 15 holes and then it kind of narrowed down to the final three,” Jerome coach C.D. Butcher said. “It was kind of fun to watch, but Morgan Rodgers made some terrific putts. She made a great birdie on 16 and a 10-foot par save on 17. They definitely earned those closing holes over us.
“We might not have played like we wanted to play, but we played well enough to win and we also played well enough to finish sixth.”
Ellie Ryu shot a 151 for Jerome, followed by Medha Pothuru (159) and Addie Yarbrough (161).
Pothuru dropped 11 shots from her first-round score, carding a 74 on the second day.
Audrey Ryu finished two shots behind medalist Kylee Heiderman of Cincinnati Mercy McAuley.
“I left a few shots out there today. It wasn’t great, but I tried my best,” said Audrey Ryu, a Furman commit. “I’m extremely proud of our team.”
Mia Hammond’s 146, including a 72 in the final round that tied her for fourth place, led New Albany. Rounding out the Eagles’ scoring were Emerson Purcell (151), Ceci Coccia (161) and Anna Coccia (163).
Purcell finished eighth individually, one of six area competitors in the top 10.
New Albany, which was tied for first with Centerville after the first round, led through the first seven holes Oct. 22 before struggling around the turn.
“We lost some momentum and never were able to get it back. Nobody really got a spark; we were just flat for some reason,” Eagles coach Rich Ritter said. “The par-threes did us in. That’s the meat of this course anyway and we just did not play them very well. …
“These girls want to win, so I am not sure there’s a consoling to be had, but it was absolutely a great year.”
Powered by top-six finishes from Olivia Drankwalter and Meadow Tian, Olentangy finished sixth (637) in its first state appearance. Drankwalter was third (145) and Tian was sixth (147), shooting a course-record 66 in the final round.
Seven players shared the previous record of 67, including Audrey Ryu in the final round a year ago.
“I just hit better (than Oct. 21). We talked a lot about (the) mental (approach) and I just tried to do my best on every shot,” said Tian, a freshman who had 12 pars and five birdies. “Everything about my game (felt) good, but I didn’t know my score until the end. I don’t like checking the live leaderboard.”
Elizabeth Wang (172) and Kimmy Archer (175) rounded out the Braves’ scoring.
Among the area’s individual competitors, Olentangy Orange’s Skylar Dean and Worthington Kilbourne’s Bella Anderson tied for 15th (154) with Solon’s Kaitlin Kormuth. Dublin Coffman’s Ellie Lim tied for 41st (165).
Medina Highland (627) and Rocky River Magnificat (629) were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the team standings. Cincinnati Sycamore was seventh (656), followed by North Canton Hoover (665), Toledo St. Ursula (666), Springboro (678), Macedonia Nordonia (682) and Lexington (723).
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Dublin Jerome second, New Albany third at state girls golf
