Varsity Weekly: Star golfer Ryleigh Knaub from Lake Mary takes game overseas

Lake Mary High junior Ryleigh Knaub was playing high-level youth golf tournaments all over the country before she hit high school.

The 16-year-old is now taking a trip like no other. Knaub is a member of two USA teams that will compete against European standouts in next week’s Junior Solheim Cup in Spain and the Junior Ryder Cup the following week in Italy.

Knaub, an All-Area player for the Rams state championship teams in 2021 and 2022, takes off Thursday for her first overseas flight.

“I’m really excited to play against girls I’ve never competed against,” she said in an interview with the Sentinel before a Monday practice session at her home course, Debary Golf & Country Club. “In the AJGA [American Junior Golf Association] tournaments I play, you see the same girls all the time. We don’t get to play against the girls from Europe.

“I know the European teams will have a lot of fan support for sure. That’s going to add to the excitement.”

Knaub is No. 10 in the AJGA rankings. She’s No. 1 among Class of 2025 players on that list.

Gianna Clemente, a 15-year-old from Estero, is the other Florida girl on the U.S. rosters.

Both events showcase golfers ages 12-18 in match-play competition in the days leading up to the U.S. vs. Europe professional versions of the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup played on the same courses.

The Junior Solheim, pitting 10 U.S. girls against European players in three days of match play, tees off Monday in Benahavís, Spain,

The Junior Ryder Cup, matching a U.S. coed team (6 boys, 6 girls) against a European squad, is Sept. 26-28 in Rome.

Knaub will go from Italy to Bloomington, Indiana, to participate in the AJGA Invitational (Oct. 6-9), a major juniors tournament. That means more than 25 days away from home and a lot of time devoted to keeping up with school work.

She takes five classes at Lake Mary and has three more online.

“Our principal [Mickey Reynolds] and my teachers have been so supportive,” Knaub said. “They helped working everything out.”

As good as Knaub is, she’s not always the frontrunner in a Lake Mary program that has won nine state championships. .

On Tuesday, the Rams went 1-under-par as a team with a 131 at the par-33 back nine at Casselberry Golf Club. Arenui Faana and Lauryn Finley each shot 31 and Knaub carded a 34.

Volleyball aces

Trinity Prep junior Victoria Hill, a two-time All-Area volleyball player, posted a career-best 55.9% hitting performance (34 kills on 59 attempts) in a 3-2 win at Windermere Prep to surpass the Saints career record for kills previously owned by Jordan Hardy, a 2021 graduate who now plays for Bucknell.

Hill started as a seventh-grader and had 1,323 kills over five seasons entering this week.

Senior setter Alex Liggeri of Kissimmee Osceola (7-3) had a career-best 54 assists in a 26-24, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21 win against Horizon (6-2). Liggeri is on pace to surpass 2,000 career assists.

East River sophomores Soraya Teston (27 kills) and Bella Seals (54 assists) led the Falcons (3-3) to a 25-19, 32-30, 21-25, 25-22 win vs. Edgewood.

Winter Park senior Fallon Stewart had 25 kills, 11 digs and 9 ace serves as the Wildcats (10-2) edged 2022 state runner-up Hagerty (7-4) by scores of 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-10 in a Saturday night match.

Olympia (11-4) senior Laney Perdue had 19 kills, a season-high 19 digs and 3 aces in a 3-0 sweep of Dr. Phillips (4-2).

Through Tuesday matches, Stewart led the state in kills, according to MaxPreps, with 218. Perdue ranked second with 211.

Hagerty (7-4) bounced back in a 25-23, 25-20, 25-19 Tuesday win vs. backyard rival Oviedo (8-4).

The Lake Howell Varsity Invitational tournament is Friday and Saturday at the Game Point Event Center in Orlando.

Bowling performers

Lake Mary (6-0), the Seminole Athletic Conference frontrunner in girls bowling, beat second-place Oviedo (4-2) by a score of 1,558 to 1,456 on Monday.

In boys play, Winter Springs junior Richard Dannelly rolled 279 and 267 games for an outstanding 546 series. Lyman’s Manny Vargas bowled a 288.

XC races

Hagerty’s boys won the Astronaut Invitational with Jonathon Leon (15:22.2), Gabriel Abbate, Jacob Leon and Alex Madruga all in the top 19. Leon was edged at the finish by David Serra (15:21.8) of Miami Ransom Everglades as they clocked Florida’s two fastest times of last week, according to FlRunners.com.

A week after running a state-best time of 17:41.52 at Winter Springs, Lake Highland Prep seventh-grade phenom Annabella Tomasic backed that up with a nearly identical 17:42.0 winning time at the Hawks on the Hill Invitational at Lake Minneola.

Winter Park swept both team titles at the St. Cloud Invitational, The Wildcats boys prevailed by one point (96-97) over Lakeland Christian.

Golfers go low

Lake Nona junior Logan Leistner shot 5-under-par 31 and Emilio Garcia carded a 33 for Lake Nona in a 140-160 boys golf win vs. St. Cloud at Eagle Creek Golf Club.

Lake Mary’s Phoenix Wilson shot 3-under 33 at Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes as the Rams totaled 149 to win a quad match.

Circle Christian beat Timber Creek 142-158 at Stoneybrook Golf Club East with Dallas Torres shooting 2-under 33 and Orlando Torres 34.

In girls golf, Angela Wang shot 32 in as The First Academy won with a 141 team total at North Shore Golf Club.

Emma Rynn shot 33 for Olympia at Zellwood Station Golf Club.

Maggie Potash, a girl playing again on the First Academy-Leesburg boys team, was medalist with a 36 at Black Bear Golf Club in a tri-match victory.

New swim site

After 10 years outdoors at the Sailfish Splash Waterpark in Stuart, the FHSAA swimming and diving state meets are going back indoors. The new Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training Center in Ocala will host the 2022, 2024 and 2025 championships Nov. 3-4 and Nov. 10-11.

The swim season gets into full swing with next Wednesday’s Lake Brantley Invitational.

Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.