Sports
Dreadnaught Girls Golf Team Sets Sights on State Title
The Dexter team is returning several key players for the 2011-12 season.
2011-12 girls varsity golf team is looking to improve upon last year’s state finals performance. The Dreadnaughts finished tied for 12th place at last season’s Division 2 state tournament, ending their season with a two-day state final score of 809 (417-392), tying South Lyon.
Dexter, the defending Southeastern Conference White Division champion, is determined to reload this year and not only capture another league title, but make a bigger statement at this season’s state match.
Dreadnaught coach Fred Ligrow, entering his seventh season on the links, said a strength of this year’s Dexter team is depth.
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“We have six or seven girls that could score for us on any day,” he said.
Leading the Dreadnaughts this year are returning juniors Danielle Schlaff, Morgan Campbell and Emily Stone and sophomores Mary So and Lauren Kimell. Schlaff, Campbell, Stone and So all competed in last season’s Division 2 state tournament.
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Key newcomers to Dexter’s squad include senior Claire Tewksbury and junior Courtney Stewart.
Ligrow said this season’s Dreadnaught team will need to mesh early.
“Even though we have five returning letter winners, we played a lot of different combinations last year,” he said. “Some of the girls we will need to score do not have a ton of tournament experience. I expect them to adapt quickly, though.”
Dexter’s girls golf is traditionally one of the state’s top programs. Since 2002, the Dreadnaughts have qualified for the state final every year. In 2004 and 2005, Dexter won back-to-back Division 2 state championships. In 2006, the Dreadnaughts were state runner-up, missing a third consecutive state title by one stroke.
The 2005 state championship squad, led by future University of Michigan standout Lindsay Davis, dominated its competition all season long, winning the Division 2 crown by 34 strokes.
Since 2002, the Dreadnaughts have placed in the state’s top 10 five times and finished no lower than 12th in the final Division 2 rankings.
This year’s Division 2 state match is Oct.14-15 at Oakland University’s Katke-Cousins Golf Course.
