Frosh drive girls golf team
June 25, 2008 · Updated 1:17 PM
"If he hadn't seen them play during middle school, South Whidbey girls golf coach Tom Sage never would have believed that two freshmen could be his best varsity golfers.Freshmen Teran Langloy and Hailie Mansfield led the Falcons out of the chute Thursday when they played in the number-one and number-two spots of the South Whidbey lineup during a preseason jamboree at Harbor Point Golf Club. Along with five returning varsity golfers from the 2000 golf team, the two young players may well be harbingers for a new era of South Whidbey High School golf. Last year the team placed third in the North Cascades Conference, third at bi-districts, then received name recognition at the 2A state meet when senior Amy Brunner placed 10th.Even though Brunner and her fellow seniors Danielle Dumke and Calandra Keck graduated, the team may set its goals even higher this year. Coach Sage said the play he has seen from his freshmen and from veterans Maria Zontine, Adrienne Hawley, Maria Demaray, Samantha Chin, and Rosa Hendrickson has him convinced that he has a team that can compete at May's state tournament.If it happens, it won't be a shock to Sage. For the past few years, he and boys coach Mick Heggenes have been teaching middle school golfers the type of game they need to compete as high school students. Many of the golfers on this year's team have gone through the program and are known quantities to their coach. The preparation the girls had in seventh and eighth grades will make a difference on the links this season, he said.I see a direct correlation, he said. The team is fortunate to be strong on talent, because it is weak on numbers. The Falcons can only field half a junior varsity team at present because they do not have enough girls to complete the lineup. Coach Sage hopes a few more girls will turn out, because the junior varsity program is the varsity's future.Fortunately, the varsity team is its own future, at least through next year. There are no seniors on the varsity team, so none of this season's players will leave the team because of graduation. With the potential to send two or three players to the state meet this year, an older, wiser varsity team could do serious damage in 2002.The Falcons' most serious North Cascades competition will be Mount Baker, which placed second at last year's state meet. The Mountaineers and Falcons could play neck and neck for the NCC title, which will be decided this year based on stroke totals from the entire NCC schedule.The Falcons start the season officially on Thursday when they travel to Battle Creek to play Lake Stevens. "