The Heritage Girls Varsity Golf team won the ACAC Tournament at Celina Lynx Golf Club in Celina, Ohio on Monday, Sept. 10. The match was originally supposed to be on Saturday, Sept. 8, but it was changed due to weather.
This is the program's third year in a row winning the ACAC tournament championship, to go along with their three-straight regular season championships.
The Player of the Match was awarded to junior, Abby Sheehan, with a nine hole score of 44. Also scoring were Alexa Zelt, 45, and Carley Rodenbeck, 53, and Shelby Schane, 56, bringing the team's total score to 198, as they defeated 2nd place, Jay County (219), and 3rd place, Bluffton (227).
The young program's continued success in only its third year of existence is partially due to the addition of new young talent, such as Shelby Schane. "I had never played golf before so I was a little nervous, but I practiced a lot, and now I am way better than when I started." The freshman, along with other young teammates, is already learning how to be part of a winner.
The ladies also competed in a tri-match against Blackhawk Christian and Canterbury, on Tuesday, Sept. 11. Heritage came out first, with a team total of 191, defeating Blackhawk’s 231 and Canterbury’s 236.
Senior, Alexa Zelt led the team with a total of 42, followed by Abby Sheehan, 47, Shelby Shane, 49, and Cassidy Myers, 53.
“I feel very good about shooting 42, especially because it’s so close to sectional. I’ve finally fixed my drives, which has improved my scores and increased my confidence,” Zelt commented.
The girls are now preparing for the sectional, which will be played at Timber Ridge Golf Course in Decatur, on Saturday, Sept. 15. They will begin playing at 9:40.
Said Zelt of the sectional, “We’re bringing our best girls and hopefully everyone can step up and drop a few strokes to give us a chance of making it out of sectional.”
"My goal is to not get mad at myself and just play golf," admitted Schane, "I hope we win sectionals or at least get in the top three [so we can advance to regional."
Teeing up against the likes of Homestead and Bishop Luers, to go along with more familiar opponents, such as Norwell and Bellmont, the ladies will have their work cut out for them to crack the top three, but with recent season best scores from Sheehan and Zelt, Coach Amanda Minchski is confident that the team can compete and advance if it gets solid performances from its top four.