 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
CHS girls hit high; then boys shoot lowBy KEITH NIEBUHR
© St. Petersburg Times, The golf teams at Citrus had a week to relish. Monday afternoon at Oak Hills Golf Club in Spring Hill, the girls captured the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference title in stunning fashion. Three days later at El Diablo Golf and Country Club in Citrus Springs, the boys shot what is believed to be the low round in coach Chris Richardson's 16 seasons. Let's start with the girls. Junior Christina Mitchell, who shot 84 to win her second consecutive GCAC title, led the charge. She beat Hernando sophomore Alison Frazier 4-5 on their second playoff hole. Kristen Klauder (99), Danialle Coates (106) and Cassie Junker (106) also had scores count toward Citrus' 395 total, which bested pre-tournament favorite Lecanto by seven. "Golf is a game where one day you're on top of the world and the next day it's on top of you," Citrus girls coach Tom Darby said. "It's a matter of who has a good day, and you have to have four players have good days at one time. That's difficult." Lecanto had beaten Citrus by large margins twice this season. "Our kids didn't have good days (in those matches)," Darby said. Mitchell is making a name for herself as a big-match player. At last season's GCAC tournament, she sprinted to a front-nine 40 and finished with an 84 to win by four shots over Lecanto's Lisa Lamontagne. This time she beat Lamontagne (88) and Crystal River's Morgan Owen (88), Citrus County's most consistent players this season. Mitchell has a 45 average. "She's a very talented girl, but she plays up and down," Darby said. "She's an excellent kid. When I say up and down, I mean if she shoots a 48 she feels bad and if she shoots 42, she likes what she's doing." Darby is hopeful the Hurricanes can build on Monday's effort. "Surely, it has a feel-good effect, but I don't know what enhances consistency and that's the name of the game," Darby said. "I don't know if confidence helps that." The boys team, which finished second at the GCAC tournament, 25 shots behind Hernando, beat the Leopards 150-158 on Thursday. Robert Taylor and Justin Webb fired 1-over 37s. Ian Morrill and Garrett Neal came in at 38. Webb is a senior. The other three are sophomores. "All of the sophomores had been there before," Richardson said. "This is just the first time they've all shot low numbers together. They really wanted Hernando, because Hernando handled them in (two earlier defeats)." Citrus, once 1-3, is 10-4. The 150 was eight shots better than the Hurricanes' previous best score this season. "We were on," Richardson said. "It was our turn. We've been in the 150s a few times this year, but we've also been as high as 170. Hopefully those high numbers are out. This (win) has got to help. The guys know they can do it. And they know if they all do it together they have a chance to push some of the top teams at districts."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Citrus Times |
