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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Olivia Bailey had two birdies and shot a 38 to earn medalist honors as the 16th-ranked Rochester girls golf team topped No. 20 Logansport 161-165 over the back nine at Round Barn Golf Club at Mill Creek Tuesday.
Ava Thomas and Molly Moore added a 40 for the Lady Zs, Lexi Haughs had a 43, and Laynie Migonis had a 50.
Bailey birdied Nos. 10 and 14 but also had four bogeys. Thomas birdied the par-5 11th hole. Moore had five pars and four bogeys. Migonis birdied the par-4 18th.
Sophia Kay and Izzy Lundy each shot a 39 for Logansport.
These teams are rivals at the Twin Lakes sectional, which is set for Tippecanoe Country Club in Monticello on Sept. 23.
“There wasn’t a lot of talk about just beating Logansport,” Rochester coach Chad Thomas said. “We just wanted to go out and have a solid round. It was a very, very competitive match. Logan is a very solid team. It came down to the last few scores there at the end.”
However, Moore said it meant “a lot” to beat Logansport.
“They are in our sectional, and they’re very competitive with us, and there is a chance of us winning sectionals, but it’s up to us and them really, so it was a big win,” Moore said.
Moore said she could have scored even lower with better putting; on the other hand, she also said she got better accuracy off the tee with her driver. As a result, she used her driver more than with her other woods.
She also said she improved her iron play just prior to the round.
“I went to the range today after school, and I figured it all out,” Moore said. “And it was good today. … I need to turn more and get my swing on a better line path.”
Coach Thomas praised Haughs, who beat playing partner Chloe Wilburn by two strokes.
“Lexi held it together,” he said. “Mentally, she lost focus a few times out there, but she held it together and managed to come in with a nice round of 43, which really helped our cause as far as the team score goes.”
Rochester was playing for the first time since shooting a school record-tying 153 against Lewis Cass on Sept. 4. Coach Thomas gave the players the weekend off to rest.
“Good team score: Low 160s is nice for us,” coach Thomas said. “It didn't feel like one of our better nights, but you know, I was a little curious how we would respond of not playing. This was the first weekend we’ve had off and not had a competitive round in several days. … It was nice to get a good round under our belt, get the competitive juices flowing again, and tomorrow we’ll do it again.”
Rochester hosts a three-way match against Plymouth and Bremen at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Three Rivers Conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru. Rochester is the defending TRC champion.
Rochester 161, Logansport 165
at Round Barn Golf Club at Mill Creek (back nine, par 36)
ROCHESTER (161): Olivia Bailey 38, Ava Thomas 40, Molly Moore 40, Lexi Haughs 43, (Laynie Migonis 50)
LOGANSPORT (165): Kay 39, Lundy 39, Graham 42, Wilburn 45, (Kranz 47)
ROCHESTER JV: Chloe Winn 61
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