Lady Cougars now preparing to host 5A East Regional
Apr. 23—The Ada High School girls golf team ended what could be tabbed a rollercoaster regular season with a third-place finish at the Tecumseh Girls Invitational hosted by the Firelake Golf Course in Shawnee, recently.
Durant ran away with the team championship with an overall score of 338. Class 4A club Perkins-Tryon was runner-up at 358 and Ada registered a 365 score. The Sulphur Lady Bulldogs were third at 384.
The trip to Shawnee was the ninth tournament for the Lady Cougars during a five-week span.
"What a very busy season we've had this year," Ada girls golf coach Ron Anderson told The Ada News on Saturday. "As a team, we won a few tournaments and we were in the mix of most of all others. We were ranked as high as second in the rankings based on your average team scores this year and at the season's end, we now sit in the fifth spot."
Ada senior London Wilson continued her steady play by shooting an 83, good enough for third place in the medalist race. Durant's Chloe Henderson won the individual title with a 73 and Sulphur's Paisley Eason was second with an 81.
"All the teams ahead of us have all made obvious improvement. We are still under construction," Anderson admitted. "But that's OK. We still have two weeks before we must be at our very best for state. This time last year is when we started clicking and I hope that will be the same this year."
Ada's Dani McTague finished fifth at the Tecumseh tournament with a season-low 85 and Ava Manwell recorded a Top 10 finish with a 90. Other Ada scores included Brooklyn Black at 94, Bella Stowers at 98 and Natalie Jussely at 111.
Now, the Lady Cougars will focus their full attention and preparation on the Class 5A East Regional scheduled for Wednesday at the Oak Hills Golf & Country Club. Ada's stiffest regional challengers are expected to be Durant and Carl Albert.
"Obviously, we will have the advantage of course familiarity. But we will have to play their best against two teams that are now playing their best," Anderson said.
"Playing on our home course will certainly give us an advantage. However, we still must execute, hit good shots and play smart," he continued. "I'm sure the girls are tired of me telling them that, we must control what we can control. You can't control who we are competing against, the course conditions, weather, etc., but we can control what's between our ears."
The Ada team will tee off at 9 a.m. and spectators are welcome at the regional. Golf carts will be available for rental.
The top six teams from each regional will qualify for the Class 5A State Tournament, scheduled for April 29-30 at the Muskogee Golf & Country Club.
"Qualifying for state should not be our goal on Wednesday," Anderson said. "We are in it to win it against teams that are playing very well now."
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Tuesday, April 16
GIRLS
Tecumseh Girls Invitational
At Firelake Golf Course
Team Standings
1. Durant 338
2. Perkins-Tryon 358
3. ADA 365
4. Sulphur 384
5. El Reno 390
6. Norman 390
7. North Rock Creek 393
8. Cushing 412
9. Byng 417
10. Seminole 423
Top 5 Individuals
1. Chloe Henderson (Durant) 73
2. Paisley Eason (Sulphur) 81
3. London Wilson (Ada) 83
4. Katelynn Powell (Cushing) 84
5. Dani McTague (Ada) 85
(tie) Kennedy Parker (Perkins) 85
Ada Individual Results
Dani McTague 85
London Wilson 83
Ava Manwell 90
Natalie Jussely 111
Bella Stowers 98
Brooklyn Black 94
Byng Individual Results
Haven Leslie 105
Brooklyn Ross 99
Allie Gilleland 108
Lexi Pennington 105
Lana Glover 123
