Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
KEITH NIEBUHRJunior Tara Allen stays on target and Lecanto runs away with its second straight team title.
INVERNESS - With a pitching wedge, Tara Allen's approach on the par-4 16th at Lakeside Country Club attacked the flag. For a moment she thought the ball might have gone in.
"It was close," Allen said.
What wasn't close was the battle for Gulf Coast Athletic Conference medalist honors.
With precise shots from tee to green and a solid round with the putter, Allen, a Hernando junior, shot 4-over 76 to defeat Citrus senior Kristin Klauder by nine shots. Lecanto senior Anne Kizer was third at 87, and Kirsten Engel of Citrus and Katie McCabe of Nature Coast tied for fourth with 90.
Lecanto (389) ran away with its second straight team title. Citrus (408) was second and Nature Coast (460) third.
"I watched Tara quite a bit and she was solid all the way around," Hernando coach Rick McGee said. "She's a player. She has a lot of experience and probably is better in 18-hole rounds than nine (holes). Her lasers were on today. She was focused."
Allen won the conference title last season and was third as a ninth-grader. She shot 38 on both sides and was not seriously challenged.
"She played a good game today," said Kizer, one of Allen's playing partners. "She was consistent throughout the whole round."
Allen double bogeyed the fourth and had four bogeys, but she birdied the sixth and 16th. She made par on every other hole.
Allen was one of the few players not fazed by breezy conditions.
"Today was definitely a day for patience," Allen said. "You have to be confident with your tempo ... I felt real comfortable with my round."
Lecanto's consistency was the difference.
"The girls did a good job," Panthers coach Doug Warren said. "We struggled a bit on the front, but everybody pulled through on the back. I'm happy with 389. Hopefully we can continue to improve. We haven't reached our potential yet."
Three Panthers broke 100. In addition to Kizer's round, Christina Saia shot 95 and Carly Lewis 97. Kari Amundson (110) was next.
"Everybody played their best today except me," said Kizer, who entered with a nine-hole average of 41. "But I'm happy that I placed. And I'm proud of my teammates. They came through."
Klauder's round was a career low (topping her 86 at districts in 2002) and the finish was her best in the conference meet. She opened with a 41 on the front.
"I could have played better on the back but I'm pleased," Klauder said. "It's kind of disappointing (to not win the team title), but our team is inexperienced and Lecanto is experienced. We're pretty happy with second."