Girls Golf: Red Wing second after day one

COON RAPIDS - Red Wing head coach Mark Herzog said he hoped the Wingers would play well enough to be in the hunt for a championship after day one of the Class 3A girls state golf meet and Red Wing lived up to expectations, sitting in second place Tuesday at Bunker Hills Golf Course.

The Wingers shot a 337, four strokes behind leader New Prague and three shots ahead of Wayzata in third place. Stillwater is in fourth place with a 344.

All four teams were expected to vie for the title.

“I am pleased where we’re at,” Herzog said. “We wanted to be in the top four and within striking distance. We’re right in the middle of it.”

Red Wing was the only team to tally all four scores less than 90. Senior Marisa Toivonen led the Wingers with a 78, senior Katie Kesti shot an 84, sophomore Nicole Schammel finished with an 86 and seventh-grader Stephanie Herzog contributed an 89.

Toivonen didn’t play a great first nine holes, double bogeying No. 5, but she found some consistency as the round went on, shooting a 37 on her second nine to finish the first day in sixth place individually.

“I knew I wasn’t hitting it well,” Toivonen said. “I know I can play better than I did today because I hit the ball really inconsistently.”

The Wingers had a tough time with the sand traps that line Bunker Hills but they did a great job of hitting rescue shots and saved themselves from too many high numbers.

“We got into a lot of bunkers,” Mark Herzog said. “The wind was up early and it was cold. The ball didn’t pop as well. … It was almost like a foreign course when it’s cold. It always seemed like we were playing into wind.

“But we stayed away from a real big number.”

Schammel fought some inconsistency during her round as well but managed to stay focused and tally a decent score. Her ability to keep it together under tough circumstances was big for Red Wing, Mark Herzog said.

She put a shot into water on No. 16 and ended up triple bogeying to move to 13-over par but recovered to par the next two holes.

“I knew it was important so I had to keep going,” Schammel said. “I didn’t feel like I played by best.”

That was a sentiment for most of the Wingers and knowing they are still so close to the lead gives them confidence for day two.

“I think that’s really big,” Schammel said of sitting near the top of the leaderboard. “I feel settled in now. Hopefully we’ll come out better tomorrow.”

Red Wing will tee off in foursomes with New Prague, Wayzata and Stillwater beginning at 8:15 a.m. today at Bunker Hills.

Tags: girls golf, red wing, sports, prep