After competing in what Varsity Girls’ Golf Coach Jane Thompson calls “an incredibly difficult conference,” senior Stephanie Robinson was the first girls’ golf state qualifier in five years.

The tournament was held in Indianapolis on Oct. 17 in frosty conditions. Thompson and Junior Varsity Coach Leslie Free went to support Robinson along with varsity teammates Heather Griffith and Lydia DeMoss.

“I was beyond excited when [Robinson advanced to state],”Griffith said. “There were three of us [at sectionals]. We were all seniors, and we were all just like ‘we don’t care who goes, we just want someone to go [to state].’”

Griffith and DeMoss competed as individuals in the sectional competition along with Robinson, but did not advance to state. Placing ninth out of the 10 individuals who would advance, and 23rd overall, Robinson scored a 76, her personal best.

“I managed to pull out my really good day the day I needed it,” Robinson said.

Out of approximately 120 players at the state tournament, Robinson did not place in the top 25 as she had in her sectional. Her score was significantly higher, with a 91 on the first day of competition and 89 on the second.
According to Thompson, the weather conditions were a significant factor in Robinson’s higher score. The temperature was about 30 degrees on the first day of competition, which caused a frost delay of about two hours.

“The conditions on [the] Friday were just incredibly difficult conditions to play in for everybody on the field because we hadn’t been used to that biting cold and the winds were difficult to judge,” Thompson said. “That affects your play.”

Robinson, however, is content with the results at state.

“I wasn’t really sad that I didn’t [make the top 25]…I was just really satisfied that I managed to get [to state],” Robinson said.

She had been close to advancing to state last year, but misqualified in a five-way playoff for the last spot.

“I was really hoping for her to get [to state] as a junior, just to experience the whole ambiance of the state tournament,” Thompson said.

It is especially difficult for those in the DuPage area to be able to reach state, as, according to Thompson, it is the “hotbed for girls golf.”

“In our area, the top golfers are shooting below par, and that is just absolutely incredible,” Thompson said.

It hasn’t always been this way. The level of play has increased in recent years due to the addition of schools in the area. An example of the heightened level is the scores needed to advance in competitions: Central’s girls’ golf team won fourth in state in 1997 with a score of 342. Today such a score would not even  get a team out of regionals.

“It simply means we have to work harder,” Thompson said.

Robinson and a student from Naperville North were the only golfers from District 203 to reach state this year, as none of the boys from either school advanced. This is unprecedented for the boys’ golf team, which according to Robinson, has one player go every year. The mix of no boy golfers along with the first girl golfer in five years to reach state results in an unusual season for golf this year.