By RICHIE HALL
Two Hamilton County girls golf teams will be undergoing youth movements as they begin the 2018 season.
Noblesville coach Justin Werkley calls his team “a young, but talented group that should see steady improvement throughout the season.” The Millers began their season Tuesday at the Penn Kingsmen Invitational, where they placed fourth. (Scores were not available at press time.)
This Noblesville team is young, but hardly inexperienced. Werkley said four sophomores are the likely leaders for the Millers: Sarah Brenneman, Ellie Karst, Bella Deibel and Taylor Caldwell. Karst and Deibel were in Noblesville’s sectional lineup last season, helping the Millers advance to the regional round. Caldwell played in some varsity matches, while Brenneman moves up from junior varsity.
Juniors Mia Sommervold and McKenzie Bennett are both part of Noblesville’s top six rotation this season. Sommervold also moves up from JV, while Bennett also got into a few varsity matches last year.
Werkley also said that junior Alexi Curts and Ellen Bennett (both up from JV) and freshmen Sophie Stutz, Erin Burt and Bergan Zebrauskas could also see some varsity action this season.
The Millers will next play in the Kokomo Invitational, which takes place Saturday at Chippendale.
Meanwhile, Fishers will have a completely new look – almost.
The Tigers finished sixth in the state last season, thanks to a line-up of five very talented seniors. That group is now graduated, which makes for the “new look” of the Tigers.
The “almost” comes from the fact there are a couple returning players that coach Danny Smith said “saw limited varsity action last year.” They are juniors Kaitlyn Brunnemer and Caitlyn Kim.
“I look forward to the leadership that they will provide,” said Smith.
There is a senior on the Fishers team this year, newcomer Hannah Shafer. Another new player is sophomore Ozzie Beal. And there are freshmen, quite a few them in fact. Those ninth-graders are Lilly McVay, Grace Moriarty, Abbey Roach, Ellie Metzger, Hayley Gausepohl, Kaelyn Tai, and Katie Griffey.
So it will be different, but Smith said he is “really looking forward to this rebuilding year, and to seeing what the Tigers team can become.
Fishers was to begin its season Tuesday at the Hamilton Southeastern Invitational, but it was rained out. The Tigers will try again today, along with several other Hamilton County teams, at the Zionsville Invitational, which begins at 8 a.m. at the Golf Club of Indiana.