Oct. 7—From the beginning of the season, the Zionsville girls golf team believed they could do something special.
All throughout the year they stayed focused on their mission — getting better week by week so that they would be peaking come the State Finals.
And when the dust settled on Saturday evening at Prairie View Golf Club, the Lady Eagles backed up what they believed they could do all year long — winning the IHSAA State Title.
“We got better each and every tournament we played in,” Zionsville head coach Maggie Nobbe said. “Little by little, we grew that confidence. We showed in multiple tournaments that we could play with anyone. The last two days, we were able to prove that and peak at the right time.”
With three returning players from a team that placed ninth in the State Finals a year ago, and the addition of two talented freshmen, the Lady Eagles believed they could compete with anyone in the state.
They showed that all throughout the season, winning four regular season tournaments against a tough schedule, then posting one of the best rounds in state history in posting a 289 to win the sectional.
Even in the tournaments they didn’t win, they were within striking distance against the other top teams.
It fueled their belief that if they played their game — they could win any tournament they played.
“We had good scores all season,” junior Amaya Wade said. “Everyone had rounds where they played well. We knew that if we could line up and everyone play well on the same day, we could do really good things.”
They knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
While the Eagles had been solid all year, so had conference foes Noblesville and Westfield. The three schools had been the top-3 in the rankings all year and all came in with the hopes of claiming the state title.
Nobbe said coming into the weekend, she just wanted her team to leave it all out there.
“Our whole motto the last two days was ‘no fear,'” Nobbe said. “The girls displayed that all weekend and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Eagles were second after day one, five shots behind Noblesville and 11 shots ahead of third place Westfield.
But Zionsville was able to wipe out the lead almost immediately, shooting 2-over as a team through the first four holes while Noblesville played them in 10-over. The five shot deficit had suddenly became a 3-shot lead.
Freshman Taylor Snively, who was the individual state champion shooting even-par over the two rounds, said coming into Day 2 the Eagles didn’t want to change their approach.
“Just play your game,” Snively said about what the girls talked about after round 1. “Bad shots are going to happen and good shots will happen, you just can’t get too high or too low and just grind until the end because you never know when one shot makes a difference.”
The Eagles made the turn with a six-shot lead, but saw it wiped out on the tough 10th and 11th holes.
But from there, the Eagles were lights out.
They played the next six holes 4-over as a team, building an eight shot lead heading into the par-5 18th. Even with a few nerves showing on the final hole, the Eagles did what they needed to do and when Snively sank her final putt, the team knew they were state champions.
“It’s so surreal,” sophomore Kaitlyn Adler said. “Coming off the green and knowing where we were at, it didn’t feel real. Just getting to do it with my teammates and spending time with them and celebrating this moment together — it’s amazing.”
What made it even more special was the way all five girls contributed to the win — just like it had been all season long.
Snively led the way with her two-round total of 144, winning the individual title by two shots.
She was just the third freshman to win the individual title and the first to do it on a winning team since 1999.
Wade was tied for 20th with a 159 (79-80).
Avery Lewis was 32nd with a 163 (82-81), and turned it on when the team needed it most. In the second round she was 10-over through 11 after back-to-back double bogeys.
But she played the last seven holes in 1-under par.
“It was a little rough (starting the back) going double-double, but I just relaxed and did my normal swing,” Lewis said. “I knew we were doing well, but I didn’t know exactly where we were at. I love playing for a team though, because I knew everyone was out there supporting me.”
The other big individual performance for the Eagles on Day 2 came from Paige Henney. After shooting an 86 in the opening round, she had a 79 in the second round.
“I got into a groove,” Henney said. “I bogeyed a hole that I wasn’t proud of, but I got it back and battled through the front. Being in these circumstances in the past, it really helped. I was able to talk to the freshmen and just explain that it is stressful, but in the end it is just another tournament we can work through together and win.”
Adler was big for the Eagles in Round 1, posting an 82. She had a solid round of 85 in the second round, steadying herself on the back-nine and capping her round with a long birdie putt.
Nobbe, who was a member of Zionsville’s 2017 state title team, said it was the perfect ending for all the hard work the girls had put into the season.
And even through the celebrations on Saturday they were already thinking about the possibilities of next year with the entire line-up back.
“This is a great for moment for the program right now that we are going to keep building on every year,” Nobbe said. “It shows that the sky’s the limit and these girls are going to come back and want to beat this score next year so we are going to keep pushing that.”
Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.
