Having made progress from their previous year, the PHS Varsity Girls' Golf Team is pleased with their season in which they placed 3rd at their Sectional and advanced to Regionals. "We have accomplished so much more this year!" states Junior Emily Denney. Photo Contributed by: Emily Denney

By Pauline Dagaas

Though the Plymouth High School girls’ golf team has enjoyed trading in their typical golf-filled Saturdays for sleep-filled ones since their season’s end, matches and being with their teammates are a few of the things they will miss most.

What primarily brought the golf members to the team was their love for the sport and that in itself, made their decision to play worthwhile. “I’ve always loved it,” says Senior Lauren Rearick, who along with Senior Emily Berger, is one of this year’s team captains. Having played since the age of two, Rearick believes it continuously plays a tremendous role in her life. “It’s a big part of it and this year, I wanted to push myself and see how good I could become,” she states. For others, golf is still a new experience. Contrary to Rearick, Freshman Morgan Oberley has been playing the sport for a couple years, last playing for Lincoln Jr. High’s team and now Plymouth High School’s. “I joined because I wanted a challenge! I wanted to play in high school,” she says. Oberley succeeded the challenge, earning the number four spot for the Varsity team.

After two months of practices and matches, the day of Sectionals arrived. With teams including Warsaw and Northridge in their sectional, players knew competition would be fierce. Walking into the match, Junior Emily Denney had prepared for the worst. “I just assumed this would be the last match with our seniors. I didn’t really expect us to make it out,” she states. Being one of the seniors leading the team, Rearick felt especially tense. “I was extremely nervous. There is a lot of pressure to do well and help your team advance,” she says. Though golf is considered a physical sport, team members agreed it to be just as mental as it was physical. “You have to go in and tell yourself not to quit and not to be scared of what might happen,” states Oberley. Because of this, players understood that a positive mindset would assume a key role if they were to truly succeed. Therefore, throughout the day, the team kept one goal in mind: Play like there is nothing to lose.

At the end of the day, being seeded 3rd at Sectionals, the girls earned a spot to Regionals. Upon discovering the results, Denney states, “I was in pure shock and excitement. It was crazy.” Rearick felt the same way and was also happy for an additional reason. “I was so excited that I was going to have the opportunity to play for PHS one more time,” she said.

Though the girls were unable to advance to Semi-State, placing seventh in their regional out of 18 teams, their season pleased them, having made progress from their previous year in which sectionals was their final golf match.

While each of the players have a passion for golf and will certainly miss it as the fall season reaches its end, looking back, all players found that their teammates were the ones who contributed most to their individual successes and to the season as a whole. For Rearick, this stood as the greatest benefit. “I will miss the support system my teammates created.  I’m going to miss seeing them every day.” Denney agrees stating, “We have so much fun together.  Since it’s a smaller group of girls than most teams, we are like a family,” she says.

Being a senior, Rearick will leave with plenty of golf memories to bring to college. For others, the memories are just beginning. After her first year of golf Oberley states, “I had so many fun experiences this year that I can’t wait till next year for it to happen all over again!”