WHITEHALL — Whitehall delivered one of its strongest rounds of the season Tuesday at the Division 3 regional tournament on its home course, White Lake Golf Club, to secure a spot at the state meet.
The Vikings finished just one stroke behind regional champion Forest Hills Eastern, shooting a 372 to earn second place and a bid to next week's state finals at Bedford Valley Golf Course.
"(The meet) was very competitive," Whitehall coach Bill Borgman said. "I didn't think it would be that competitive, to be honest. We were very hopeful (we would reach state), but very unsure based on the numbers we were shooting coming in."
However, Whitehall's top players came up big on the big stage. Senior Grace McDowell shot an 86 and freshman Riley Shafer had an 89 after both spent much of the second half of the season shooting in the 90s. Shafer scored a birdie on the par-5 14th hole.
Whitehall's Grace McDowell tees off during Tuesday's regional tournament at White Lake Golf Club. McDowell led the Vikings to a runner-up finish with her score of 86.
Shafer's performance was particularly impressive given her age; no other freshman in the regional field shot under a 100.
"She puts in the time," Borgman said of Shafer. "She golfed all summer. She'll come out and play golf by herself whenever she has a chance. She'll practice by herself. She puts in the time, and putting all that extra effort in definitely pays off."
Morgan Garcia chipped in a 95 for Whitehall, and Kelsie McClure rounded out Viking scoring with a 102. Felicity Dingman had a 105.
The state finals bid marks the eighth for Whitehall in the 10 seasons since Borgman took over the program along with now-retired Greg Boughton. He said the team is shooting for a top-10 finish at the state meet.
"There's a lot of good teams out there," Borgman said. "The last I looked, we were probably ranked around 12th. Top 10 is our goal rigt now, and anything better than that would be awesome."
Borgman added that he was thankful to the over three dozen club members who turned out to support the Vikings during the tournament.
"They all made the girls feel extremely welcome," Borgman said. "We had a great turnout. The members loved it, and it was a beautiful day for golf and a beautiful result for Whitehall."
