Girls’ golf crashes the course, finishes 6th at state

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Shannon Glidwell

After finishing second in District 9-5A, the girls’ golf team placed 6th at the UIL 5A State Tournament Monday and Tuesday at White Wing Golf Club in Georgetown. The team finished 23 strokes behind state champion Alamo Heights with senior Raeleigh Davidson finishing 14th overall.

Harley Classe, Assistant Sports Editor

The Redhawks took on the Texas UIL 5A girls state golf tournament this weekend in Georgetown coming out 6th place overall as a team.

“The state tournament went very well for us,” head coach Shannon Glidwell said. “We shot a team record for the state tournament which was seven strokes better than our old record. We also shot the same score both days so the play was very consistent.”

Not only was this a win for the team at state, but also one of the best scoring tournaments for the group all season. 

“As a team we did the best in our school’s history I believe,” senior Maya Jain said. “We shot our lowest round this year for sure.”

While finishing in a higher place would have been more ideal for the team, the athletes are proud of how far they came.

“Normally in years past we would have finished a little bit higher,” Glidwell said. “Our district had five teams ranked in the top twenty so it was harder to get out of our district than it was to get out of our region.”

Senior Raleigh Davidson is excited for her career outside of high school golf.

“It feels good to have made it so far,” Davidson said. “It taught me how to lead. I’ve been the top player all 4 years so just helping my teammates with what I can to help them get better too.”

For most, 1st place is the ultimate goal, however, for the Redhawks simply getting to play with one another was a win in the books.

“I think for us to qualify for the state tournament was always our primary goal,” Glidwell said. “We had ambition to get on the podium this year but honestly we were just thrilled to have a tournament in 2021.”

After navigating through rough waters in their preseason, the team is satisfied with their performance throughout the year.

“In august when we looked at the start of the season, we were hoping that there weren’t going to be any problems with COVID protocol or issues where we’d have to cancel a tournament,” Glidwell said. “I think this year the kids were just really grateful for the chance to just get in there and play.”

As this was the last competition of their high school career for many, senior Maya Jain reflects on the past year.

“I’m honestly pretty sad and didn’t realize how much I was going to miss it and the girls,” Jain said. “LHS golf has taught me a lot these past four years and has led to a lot of great friendships I’ve made. It showed me how hard work eventually does pay off.”