By Holly Dayton ’13, The Lens Section Editor
With a fabulous record of 13-4 (four of the wins being over Indian Hill), the CCDS Girls’ Varsity Golf team is prospering this year to the extent that in week 5, the team ranked #1 in the local coaches’ poll. Pat Dunn, the coach of the 12 woman team, the largest one proportional to school size in the state and the only team in the MVC, reasons their success is “well, in part, because of talent.”
All the players from last year returned and more underclassmen joined the team this season. Audrey McCartney ‘12, team co-captain, is described by Dunn as a strong player and natural in her leadership role. She and Avery Maier ‘13, #2 on the team, together make up the nickname, AM2. Maier, Dunn explained, worked a lot over the summer in city tournaments and has become as essential part of the team. Katie Karnes ’13, #3 on the team, whose steady game is described by Dunn as “unflappable” holds the team record for birdies. Co-captain and 4-year player Anisa Tatini has made crucial contributions to winning efforts, including a win over Anderson at Bel-Wood CC.
New to the team this year is freshman talent Kacie Bradfish ‘15, who, at 1st spot on the team, together with Katie Karnes makes up K3. Bradfish played in 12 tournaments at a city level this summer and has a 10 handicap. She has also been a medalist in 6 matches, a feat long unseen in Girls Varsity Golf at CCD. Other players include Chase Frederick ’14, who is playing her first season of competitive golf, and Kiersten Bannerman ’14, another new and improving player, as well as Victoria Paff ’14, Clara Smith ’13, and seniors Sarah Davis ‘12, Victoria Mairal-Cruz ‘12, and Katie Warwick ’12.
Aside from solely talent, Maier attributed the team’s success this year to individual improvement, saying, “We’ve each improved our scores dramatically and have become more mature about focusing on our game and working hard.”
The camaraderie of the team is a key factor behind their group success. The girls have “a great time,” Dunn noted. “They have such fun and get along so well.” From the students’ perspective, Dunn keeps everything “fun and relaxed,” said Bradfish, “All the girls want to play their best for her.”
“My favorite part”, Maier mentioned, “is the extremely long rides to courses in the middle of nowhere. While it sounds like it would be terrible, the car rides are quite the opposite. We have great conversations and Mrs. Dunn never ceases to make hilarious jokes.”
Overall, “It’s a wonderful team,” said Maier, “we each genuinely care for one another and we have a lot of fun together.”
Looking forward, Dunn is optimistic about the future of the team. “I will be disappointed if we don’t win the sectional. We’re doing it with all of them; we don’t cast blame around here because we’re a team,” she stated. Bradfish, also hopeful, says, “We want to win sectionals and keep going as far as we can go!” Maier, a bit more cautious, argues that, “we’ll have to see how well we play that day.”
Dunn’s dual mantras for this year are “every stroke counts” and “beat your girl.” She admitted that the Girls Varsity Golf program has seen rough days, but is proud the program was never dissolved.
“Though the goals of the team have changed, the program has never gone away,” she contends. “The competitive nature of the current team would have been impossible without those weaker years.”
