By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer?
Lake Orion’s girls? golf team’s solid early-season play has placed the lady Dragons near the top of the state high school rankings, putting them at number two.
The ladies also face some stiff competition the past week against Rochester and Troy.
The entire varsity girls team placed in the Top 20 at the Lady Falcon Invite hosted by Rochester High School.
Fifty-three golfers took to the links at Stoney Creek Metro Park Golf Course where junior Moyea Russell placed fifth overall shooting 79. Senior Megan Miller placed ninth, shooting 85.
Rochester won the invitational with a team score of 330 while Troy finished seven strokes above at 337 and Lake Orion finished just behind at 338.
On Wednesday, August 26 the Lady Dragons saw their first OAA Red League Match against Troy at the Woods at Twin Lakes Golf Club.
Senior Lauren Danielson graced the course with her game face on as she birdied the first hole. Following the impressive shot, Danielson continued to improve on the next hole by sinking her first ever hole-in-one from 120 yards.
‘I was right next to the green, along with her mom, sister, grandparents and sister and we all saw it fly directly into the hole,? Coach Monty Gallaher said. ‘It was a slam dunk and never hit the putting surface. Needless to say Lauren was thrilled.?
But despite the impressive start, Troy proved to be a tough opponent and the Dragons fell by one stroke with a score of 166 to Troy’s 165. Junior Moyea Russell medaled after shooting 35, Danielson followed up with 37, sophomore Cameron Colton shot 45, while seniors Megan Miller and Lyndsey Welper both shot 49.
The next day they returned to Twin Lakes for a tournament within a tourney where Troy High School was the host and invited 20 teams.
New for the tournament was the use of a new live scoring system called ‘BirdieFire.? The program, which is used by colleges all over the country, allows for the girls to input scores in real time which allows coaches and parents to see the progress on the entire golf course.
All day it was Lake Orion, Troy and Rochester jockeying for top spot; always within a couple shots of each other ending the last five hole within one stroke.
Rochester finished on top at 310 with Lake Orion three strokes behind at 313 and Troy at 316. Welper had a career best shooting 81 despite placing 23rd out of 120 golfers.
Closing out the week the first state rankings were revealed and not surprisingly Lake Orion is near the top.
They placed second overall with Troy taking top honors with Bloomfield taking third.