Card girls' golf: Alexandria first at Pre-section, sixth at Staples

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The pre-section girls’ golf meet at Long Prairie Friday was a little taste of tournament action for the Cardinal girls, and they responded with a first place finish.

“This meet is an opportunity for each of the section schools to play the golf course, which will be used for the section tournament in three weeks,” said head coach Tim Zupfer. “It was also an invitational tournament hosted by Long Prairie.

“The Lady Cardinals prevailed, with a 6-shot margin over St. Cloud Apollo.”

Another conference rival, St. Cloud Tech, finished another seven shots back to finish third.

Individually, Amanda Bigger and Natalie Amundson each finished in the top five to lead the Cardinals.

“Amanda and Natalie both played very steady rounds,” said their coach. “I believe they had three or four double bogeys each on their rounds, but neither recorded a score higher than 6 on their card. In addition, they were each able to convert eight or nine pars during their rounds.

“Emily [Thul] continues to play good golf, but fell victim to a couple of holes where the wind influenced some of the shots. Her game continues to sharpen and she is due for a break out round soon.

“Caroline [Roers] had a better day today, rebounding from a tough day at Red Wing on Tuesday,” Zupfer added. “She knows that she can post both of her nine hole scores under 45. She was pleased that she had a better day striking her putts.

“Brynn [Novotny] struggled with a stiff back that affected her ability to swing. With some rest, we expect her to bounce back and post good scores for us next week.

“Shelby [Iverson] was able to see the Long Prairie Golf Course for the first time. Her experience today will prepare her for lower scores the next time she plays the course.”

GIRLS’ GOLF PRE-SECTION

AT LONG PRAIRIE

TEAM SCORES – Alexandria 355, St. Cloud Apollo 361, St. Cloud Tech 368, Bemidji 373, Buffalo 374, Monticello 389, Sartell 400, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 406, Willmar 415, Moorhead 417, Brainerd 421, Big Lake 462, Sauk Rapids 516.

ALEXANDRIA – Amanda Bigger 42-43 – 85 (3rd), Natalie Amundson 44-42 – 86 (4th), Emily Thul 47-44 – 91 (13th), Caroline Roers 44-49 – 93 (17th), Brynn Novotny 46-55 – 101 (31st), Shelby Iverson 56-56 – 112 (50th).

STAPLES

INVITATIONAL

The Cards traveled to Staples early Saturday morning and competed in a 14-team meet, and finished sixth.

“This was our fourth meet this week, but certainly the meet with the best weather,” said coach Zupfer. “Conditions were sunny with little wind and a comfortable 65-70 degree temperature.

Individually, Amundson earned a top 10 finish with a round of 81.

“Our veteran players remembered their scores from the first time playing the course, which seemed to help ease the frustrations our less experienced players encountered,” Zupfer added. “It takes courage sometimes to play this game with better players, and I was pleased with the efforts of Kalley [Bistodeau] and Emma [Pederson].

“While they experienced some frustration, they never gave up and kept a positive attitude. Kalley actually played the tougher back nine five shots better than her front nine. Shelby hit many good shots today and played solid for most of the day. Unfortunately, she had four really tough holes during her round that hurt her.”

STAPLES-MOTLEY INVITATIONAL

TEAM SCORES – Detroit Lakes 318, Pequot Lakes 336, Grand Rapids 339, Staples Motley 352, Bemidji 354, Alexandria 357, Becker 367, Northfield 370, Providence Academy 374, Albany 385, Elk River 385, Moorhead 390, Park Rapids 401, Crosby Ironton 489.

ALEXANDRIA – Natalie Amundson 41-40 – 85 (9th), Caroline Roers 42-44 – 86, Emily Thul 40-46 – 86, Shelby Iverson 50-54 – 108, Kalley Bistodeau 60-55 – 115, Emma Pederson 65-65 – 130.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, golf