Bailey shoots 34 on senior night, lifts Rochester past Valley

Moore adds 38; Miller leads Valley with 42

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Olivia Bailey

In a matchup between conference champions, one player stood out.

Olivia Bailey, receiving caddie help from her parents Emily and Dan, earned medalist honors with a 34 as the Rochester girls golf team beat Tippecanoe Valley 170-200 over the back nine at Round Barn Golf Club at Mill Creek Tuesday.

Molly Moore added a 38, Lexi Haughs had a 42, Lily Chipps had a 56, and Chloe Winn had a 70 for the Three Rivers Conference champion Lady Zs.

Savana Miller led the Indiana Northern State Conference champion Lady Vikings with a 41. Gentry Bouse had a 50, Jenna Prater had a 54, and Brystal Sands and Maris Overbey each shot a 55.

Bailey’s round included back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 and another on No. 15 before finishing with a bogey on No. 18. There was also a significant family contingent following her from hole to hole.

“She was really dialed in until 18,” Dan Bailey, who is also the Rochester coach, said. “I think she really wanted to play well tonight, and she did a really good job. She played a great round of golf. But when she walked up the green on 17, she started tearing up a little bit. That made playing 18 pretty tough.”

Moore’s round started with a double-bogey on the par-3 10th hole followed by eight straight pars. Haughs had birdies on Nos. 10 and 14.

Moore shot 37 on the back nine of the TRC tournament Saturday.

“I think she’s on her way out of her little slump,” coach Bailey said. “Every golfer goes through it. It lasted a week and a half or so. And even the 38 tonight, she double-bogeyed her first hole and parred the rest of them. She played really good golf tonight, and I like stacking those thirty-somethings in a row.”

As for Valley, Miller played No. 2 instead of No. 1 and paired with fellow sophomore Moore. She did not have any birdies, but Bouse did on the par-4 14th hole.

A 200 is Valley’s second best for a nine-hole round this season. Valley shot a 194 at the Leaning Tree Invitational Sept. 11. They shot a 202 at Round Barn for their own senior night Monday in a win over John Glenn.

“Quite a bit,” Valley coach Leslie Brouyette said when asked about the team’s improvement since their conference tournament win. “Actually Savana’s scores are kind of steady, but the rest of the girls, they’ve improved a lot. My No. 10 (Kyndall Davis), I think got 10 strokes off tonight. Her best was 72; she got 62 tonight. Maci Parker has probably averaged 53 or 54 the last two weeks. Jenna Prater’s got hers down, probably averaging more around 51 or 52. Most of them have probably shaved two or three strokes off the last three weeks consistently.”

Brouyette said the greens are “night and day” different in terms of their faster speed as compared to other courses they play at Stonehenge Golf Club, their sectional site.

Rochester played a practice round at Dykeman Park Golf Club in Logansport Thursday to prepare for the sectional. The sectional will begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Rochester at Twin Lakes, canceled

The Rochester-Twin Lakes nine-hole match scheduled for Monday was canceled. Twin Lakes’ conference tournament was postponed from Saturday to Monday due to rain, necessitating the cancellation on their part.

at Round Barn Golf Club at Mill Creek Tuesday (back nine, par 36)

Rochester 170, Tippecanoe Valley 200

ROCHESTER (170): Olivia Bailey 34, Molly Moore 38, Lexi Haughs 42, Lily Chipps 56, (Chloe Winn 70)

VALLEY (200): Savana Miller 41, Gentry Bouse 50, Jenna Prater 54, Brystal Sands 55, (Maris Overbey 55)

ROCHESTER JV: Audrey Widman 63

VALLEY JV (239): Maci Parker 54, Taylor Long 61, McKinley Burton 62, Kyndall Davis 62