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Girls Golf State Finals Preview with Will Willems (Sports & Beyond with Michelle Garmon, 3.60) · The Central Indiana Sports Report

• 0:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: You are listening to sports and beyond with Michelle Garmin, her interview with the Lebanon reporter, sports editor Will Williams, who covers the two-time defending state champion, Zion'sville Eagles and two-time individual state champion Taylor Snively, and it's only on the central Indian sports report.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome sports fans to the Central Indiana Sports Report for this edition of Sports and Beyond With Michelle Garmin, Michelle's conversation with Levin and reporter sports editor Will Willems who covers the extraordinary Zionsville Eagles and Junior Star Taylor Sniveley who shot a 59 at the sectional this year and has been the talk of Indiana
• 1:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Zionsville and Taylor now look for their third consecutive state finals and here is Michelle's conversation with Will Williams.
• 1:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm here with Will, I'm 11 in reporter to talk about the Girl State Finals golf tournament, which for the first time is going to be played at Battleground, just north of Lafayette and that is because the flooding in
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: earlier this fall or in August I should say a created quite a bit of damage down in the Hamlet County area and it purr of you golf course.
• 1:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: And Will has the privilege of covering the two-time defending state champion, Zion's little lady Eagles, and one of their star players
• 1:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Design's not going to make it a 3P and this Taylor going to make it a 3P.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I would be very surprised if the team did not repeat for their third straight state championship, but they have been on an absolute role.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're, I mean, all year, but really the last months in general, the their last four, 18 hole tournaments, they've been under par as a team of
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: at the sectional over at West Chase, and then followed it up at Harrison Hills and the regional of course that many of the girls had only seen one or two times before and shot one under par as a team out there.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they've been on a mission.
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: This has basically been the same group that's played many of them for three years together now, but really this whole group has been together at least two years with sophomore Olivia Patton as well.
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: They've just, they've been kind of solely focused on just reaching this goal.
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they're a really fun group to cover.
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: They don't really take, they take golf seriously, but they like to have a good time while playing.
• 3:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they've been a lot of fun to watch.
• 3:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I would be really surprised, especially over a two day tournament, if anyone could beat them over two days with Taylor.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, she's clearly the favorite.
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's the best player in the state.
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: But there's a lot of good golfers in this state, and I think battleground does bring some of those other good golfers into the mix a little bit.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Even her own teammate Olivia Patton has beaten her a couple of times recently in tournaments, so she's going to be in the mix.
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there's several other, other girls, Kennedy, Goodya are as up at Valparizo, Maya, Fuzi, Sawa, Kuleen, over at Carmel, Risi Lemmon, over at Mount Vernon.
• 4:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're all very capable of going low over two days.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And with the game of golf, the favorite doesn't always win, but I know that Taylor's been pretty locked in.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is a goal of hers to leave high school as a four-time state champion, and she's going to have a really good chance to do that on Saturday.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, and I guess the nice thing for Zion's bills, one of the leading teams that will challenge him at the state finals, they've been playing with her the last two weeks at the sectional and regional in that's carmel.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: I should say two teams, Carmel and Westfield, they played both with both of the last two weeks.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: right well yeah they're in it they are in a different section all uh with the uh but yeah they faced them in the the regional they faced them both several times throughout the regular uh seasons so they're I mean they're very familiar uh with each other's eye-endville and Westfield are in the same conference and see each other a lot and those teams have a great relationship and a lot of respect for one another it's fun kind of watching them interact on the course a lot
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, they're very familiar with everything.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they know how each other's games stack up really well.
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: So if they get into a pairing with each other on Saturday, then there's not going to be anything really that they don't expect.
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Come in, they just are going to have to focus on their games and playing really good golf.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: So nice thing to, I guess, for example, of course,
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Westfield and Carmel have that, too, is that they've played at a half battle ground in the regional previous two years.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: I know some of those teams go up there for a massive invitational early in the season.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, uh, they're familiar.
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the course.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Zyenzel is very familiar with the course.
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, I was out at their practice on Tuesday doing some pre-state stuff in some of the
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: They might play battleground more than any other course they play throughout the year.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: They try to get out to prairie view a couple times a year as well in a normal year, but they don't really play a lot of nine-hole matches at their own home course, so they practice that golf club within the end of Downin.
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: in white town, but they really don't do any tournaments or matches out there.
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they do have two regular season tournaments out at battlegrounds.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Usually the regional is at battleground and then when they found out that state was going to be at battleground this year, I know they've gone up a couple times to see the course since then and then we're up at their practice round yesterday, kind of checking out how the layout's going to be and stuff like that.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: that course, it's going to provide a little bit of a different test than they seem, because I know they are going to try to lengthen it a little bit that compared to what it has been for a regional or what a regular season tournament is, so there will be some different shots that you have to hit over this this weekend, then maybe something in the past, but yeah, they know that course, they know how the greens work, what areas the kind of avoid.
• 7:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, they're really looking forward
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: I know when I found out it was moving to Battleground and the tip didn't used to go that way.
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think Emma Kelly and has been a regional champion.
• 7:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: Lucy quickly was close to it.
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: They shot tremendously good scores or I should say, but they shot pretty good scores.
• 7:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: So do you look for scoring to be a little lower than maybe than Prairie View?
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: lower than prairie view.
• 8:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that was kind of like the big worry may be coming in, like compared to what where they've played some of these regular season tournaments at Battleground before.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: If they used those yardages, like I think you would see the scores be ridiculously low with the talent that is in the state of Indiana and girls golf.
• 8:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I know like after the
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, kind of talking with battleground of how to set up the course is best possible to make it a true championship test for these girls this weekend.
• 8:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, it probably has been a play a little bit shorter than prairie view and maybe a little easier.
• 8:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you'll probably see scores a little bit lower, but I think that it's still going to provide a good challenge for the girls and I think he I to say and the coaches and whoever sets up the golf forces.
• 9:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: doing the best that they can kind of give in the situation with when they had to move the word of the state finals venue is pretty much a month from the state finals.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's more challenging I think when you come to a girl's golf state tournament because it's on Friday and Saturday and Saturdays, especially when school starts and this time of year they're very lucrative days for golf courses and they don't like in the summer I know the boys their state finals are Tuesday and Wednesday and I'm going to guess a lot of that is because
• 9:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: There aren't very many really big golf courses that want to give up a week at right.
• 9:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know this for 100% certainly, but kind of listening to some of the conversations with coaches and parents and some officials and I think that some other courses were kind of maybe interested in hosting the state finals this year.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it is it's a big task to underdo that especially late in the year because you
• 10:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: to get you have to get the course ready all the teams come up for practice rounds either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
• 10:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, and then you have like you said Friday and Saturday as well.
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, it's it's a big undertaking for any golf course and so it's like I think this is probably this the best case scenario and you have to factor in things like they're at they have to have
• 10:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: do that kind of thing.
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have to have big enough club houses for people to kind of be able to hang out at during the state finals and things like that.
• 10:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot of factors that went into it.
• 10:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know it probably wasn't what everyone maybe had hoped for or some people were think it'd hope and for maybe a different course.
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I think that all things considered this was the best case scenario.
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you have to really appreciate battleground for stepping up.
• 10:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm such a late notice to be able to host this.
• 11:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you're right.
• 11:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: You do scooters to the people in the group that owns a course, the pros up there and their staff, because it is huge undertaking to take on a state event.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: You've got a lot of teams, a lot of individuals.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: You have a lot of fans.
• 11:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you're right, when I heard it was at Battleground, my very first concern was parking because I know that that's
• 11:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: small community wasn't was parking and then getting there because if you've not been the battleground before.
• 11:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's not easy to necessarily find.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I'm going to suggest everybody make sure that you have your your Google maps or your ways, whatever your GPS, and if you still use the old plugin GPS to your car or you know on your car, make sure it's all updated.
• 11:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there's been some construction there within the last year or so too.
• 11:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's like, yeah, it's kind of out out there.
• 11:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there's some twists and turns on roads that you have to find thankfully.
• 12:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, this is, I've only, I've been doing this now for about 19 years covering Boone County sports.
• 12:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I've been up to battle around a few times.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it, it is a little tricky to get there if you're not fully aware of where it is.
• 12:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think talking to the IHSAA this week and I think that they have a good plan for how to get as many people there as possible and they have a shuttle set up and off site parking that's pretty close and everything like that.
• 12:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I think it's going to be a pretty good event this weekend and hopefully just the rain stays away on tomorrow and then we'll be ready to go.
• 12:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: I have looked at the forecast for this area and then I know there is rain forecast in a pretty good chance of it where there was last night haven't yet checked today because as we know in the state of Indiana, the weather can change just even in a 30 minute window, but maybe being north, maybe they'll get a little lucky last night it looked like that it would kind of be maybe rain overnight, but then hopefully kind of.
• 13:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Slow and down and stopping right around when a lot of these teams are going to be tea and off.
• 13:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the course might be a little wet, but hopefully it doesn't rain and then I think Saturn is supposed to not be a pretty good day over all weather-wise.
• 13:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I know that, I mean, these girls they've played in the Midwest and Indiana for years, they're well accustomed to massive changes in the weather on a daily basis.
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think the
• 13:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: all the teams are going to be very well prepared for whatever kind of situation mother nature throws at them this weekend.
• 13:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Were you there in person to watch Taylor's and 59 and then just the team's performance?
• 13:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was the pattern, you know, right?
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Then shot one of the Lewis girl 66.
• 13:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 13:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I saw the funny thing is I'm on all their team score.
• 13:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean,
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: 90 million out of 100 times and then for the team to because if you take that and what everybody had to average that was just remarkable.
• 14:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: The funny thing is so like I usually try to plan it especially on that section because it's always on Friday and there's always going to be football games to cover that night.
• 14:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: I tried to go see like the last four or five holes for each girl
• 14:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: That one, they Taylor's group played so exceptionally fast that it was like, I only caught the very end.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think they teed off something about like nine, 15 in morning, and then they played the round in about three and a half hours.
• 14:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
• 14:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: For a three, some is like ridiculously fast.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And her dad had actually texted me, probably like, right is they're getting to teed off the 18th.
• 14:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's like, hey, where are you?
• 15:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, oh, I'm like five minutes away.
• 15:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: What's going on?
• 15:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was like, I think you need to get here.
• 15:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's playing pretty well.
• 15:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, well, with Taylor, I mean, she's covering her the last three year.
• 15:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's played some really ridiculous rounds of golf.
• 15:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, well, I mean, like, how well is well?
• 15:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he was like, I don't think you've ever seen this before.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, all right, so I get up there.
• 15:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then at one point I had I was starting to get texts from some other parents around the course were like Taylor's about to shoot 59 and I was like, there is no way a high school golfer is going to shoot 59, but then you know she finished it finish it off with a par on 18 and I mean the crazy part is is that she even bogey to hold on the front nine so it she yet finished 12 under with a bogey.
• 15:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I was just a ridiculous round of golf.
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I mean, yeah, the whole team just played really well.
• 15:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, yeah, like you said, Avery Lewis, shoots a 66, five under, and she was actually, I believe, four under at the turn as well.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: So she got off to a great start.
• 16:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then just kind of even doubt on the back a little bit and Olivia Patton, who then went on to win the regional next week.
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: She was actually three over through eight holes.
• 16:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: and then played the last ten holes four under par.
• 16:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they have a, they have a team of girls who are capable of going really low, no matter what the golf course is they really like playing with each other, they push each other a lot like if you go to watch any of their practices there, they're always competing about.
• 16:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: something and kind of needle in each other and play it doing little contest in the middle of drills to try to do a little bit better than one another.
• 16:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the other cool thing is is that they truly support one another because it can be really hard especially in a sport like golf where there's there's such a big individual element to the game as well that like there could be some jealousy or this kind of
• 17:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: The competition cannot complete it into a bad spot, but I mean, that's not the case with this team.
• 17:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Taylor, she's not well shooting even par on Saturday, but I mean, she loses towards teammate, but then she's one of the first person people to go congratulate Olivia afterwards, because she was genuinely happy that she played a great round three under to win the regional title, and they were congratulating Annabel Hacker from playing field,
• 17:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: had gotten out her senior year as an individual and someone that they've played with many times.
• 17:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they're they're more focused on just doing what's kind of good for the game.
• 17:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're not really worried about, I mean, they want to do well, but they're just as happy for everybody else when they do well, too.
• 17:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's a really cool thing to see.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm on to China a couple of things.
• 17:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think as far as for me in the my area,
• 18:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: last two years, the three teams of advancing out of the sectional and the regional have been the same little different order in Enoblesho Hamilton, South Eastern, and La Pelle.
• 18:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I find that Cudos to La Pelle, a school that's the smallest one in advance of this state term, and they're making their second straight trip as a team.
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: The 502 students, and they have two really good golfers
• 18:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: and they have Bella Shetterly.
• 18:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm looking forward to seeing the scores on Saturday, but I must admit, even though there's a two-time defending state champion, there's a part of me that's pulling for Zion's build, because I think they're on a remarkable run.
• 18:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think the fact that they are so deep and talented golfers is what makes this team so special.
• 18:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: I know when the tips and boys won't
• 18:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: This boy state golf tournament in 1994, Coach Kenny Day said he thought the big success was, it was he had enough golfers that they were competitive, every practice was competitive, and he thought that was the key to their run.
• 19:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think there is something to be said for that.
• 19:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think scienceville has had a proof of that.
• 19:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of the crazy things about this team is you have a senior in Caitlyn Adler who was a starter on the team, her freshman in sophomore year,
• 19:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: helps them when a state championship her her sophomore years finishes in the top 35 in the state.
• 19:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then the next year, because they bring everybody back, but they add fresh freshman in a livi a patent that she suddenly becomes the number six golfer and it's kind of pushed to the becomes the alternate then, but she kind of really stayed as a big member of the team and the way their schedule is there allowed to bring
• 19:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like in play an individual, a lot of these varsity tournaments.
• 19:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: So she stuck with the varsity group.
• 19:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Played, she actually lowered her average by five shots last year.
• 20:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Was this the fantastic teammate?
• 20:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then now as a senior, she's getting her cancer to do it again.
• 20:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And she's even playing even better than she was last year, where she's average in just about in the mids.
• 20:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like 78.4 strokes per 18 hole, something around that.
• 20:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: for her average.
• 20:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they have another girl who's a Aubrey Tish, who's their number six this year, who she would be playing on varsity of nearly every team in the state.
• 20:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's that good averaging in the high 70s low 80s.
• 20:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they are that deep and they know that they think it helps them in a way that if they don't necessarily have their best game that they're going to continue to grind, but they know that their teammates are there to pick them up.
• 20:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um,
• 20:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, that there isn't very many hasn't been very many off days, but I mean, yeah, they are a deep team.
• 20:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are, they really like to compete in everything they do.
• 20:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have had a fun rivalry since middle school, really, where there's two Zionville middle school, Zionville, Western Zionville, middle, and the team was split pretty evenly three and three.
• 21:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they had some battles for three, four years in middle school.
• 21:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And now they've kind of connected.
• 21:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: here in high school and they're really kind of reaping the rewards of all their hard work.
• 21:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, thank you, Will, for joining me and talking about the girl's stick golf tournament in Zion's July.
• 21:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Again, I think what they are doing on what they are on the precipice of accomplishing is amazing.
• 21:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you know, they get three, then they're going to be after four, which
• 21:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's statistically there are three best players return next year too, so they'll have a really good core coming back because Taylor and Avery Lewis are only juniors in Olivia Patton's only a sophomore.
• 21:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they're gonna definitely miss their two seniors and Paige Hany and Caitlin Adler.
• 22:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just like they miss a Maya Wade who graduated last year and is not playing up that Purdue Fort Wayne, but they've had some really good girls and these kind of consecutive classes
• 22:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're kind of just really kind of setting the talent for what they want designs and what girls go up to be.
• 22:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much to Michelle, and thank you so much to Will for that.
• 22:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Always appreciate Michelle's time and always love hearing from Will Williams.
• 22:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: look forward to hearing from him what happens this weekend and look forward to hearing Michelle as well.
• 22:49
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• 23:01
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