Reeths-Puffer dealt with a nightmare scenario at Tuesday's regional
tournament, played at Cedar Chase Golf Course. Rockets Sophia McCollum
and Rowan Bluhm tied for the final individual state qualifying spot,
each shooting an 85, which forced them to play against one another in a
playoff for that single spot.
McCollum won the playoff, but no one, the victor included, left the regionals happy with how things ended.
"For Rowan and Sophia to have to play against each other for the final
individual qualifying spot was absolutely brutal," Rockets' coach Matt Pallett said. "It was the toughest
coaching moment in my 29 years of coaching sports. I am very proud of
both of them.”
As a team, R-P finished fifth with a score of
379, 12 strokes away from team state qualification. Pallett said the
regional was "arguably the toughest" in Division 2.
McCollum
and Bluhm both performed well, tying for sixth place overall. Bluhm came
up with a clutch birdie on her final hole of regulation to force the
playoff with McCollum, who herself finished strong, going just three
over par over her final 10 holes prior to the playoff.
Also
scoring for the Rockets were Olivia Ambler, who shot a 103 despite
dealing with breaking in a new set of clubs after several of hers broke,
and Ella Voorhies, who had a 106 and made a birdie during her round.
Emma Dvorak also competed and shot a 135.
"The team played
well, but it just wasn’t enough to qualify for the state finals as a
team," Pallett said. "As a team we continued to improve through the
year. We
will continue to have a goal to make the state finals as a team one of
these years.”
