Bears Repeat as TAPPS Golf Champs
By Kelly Morris / Special Contributor
Ursuline made it back-to-back championships at the TAPPS Division I state golf tournament, after the Bears shot a career-best 307 on the final day to spark a first-place finish at Stonetree Golf Club in Killeen.
Junior Courtney Kang, who returned to state after injury, finished third overall. She drained a birdie putt on the last hole to record her second 74 of the tournament for a 148 overall score.
Senior Elena Song (76-77—153) finished fifth. Senior Haley Rickman (80-78—158) and sophomores Aiden McLachlan (81-78—159) and Marcy Mount (90-89—179) rounded out the championship team.
The Bears, who won their district meet but finished second at regionals, opened the state tournament with a score of 311.
“I am incredibly proud of this group of girls,” said Ursuline head coach Amy Ruengmateekhun. “The team chemistry is not like any other team I’ve been a part of. The fact that they topped their low first-round score in even harder conditions shows just how talented and mentally strong they are.”
That team chemistry played a big part in sparking Ursuline’s last 18 holes, when four of the five golfers broke 80.
“We celebrated Haley’s 18th birthday during a team dinner and talked about how much better we wanted to play on the final day,” Ruengmateekhun said. “Instead of thinking about just winning, I told them to shoot for our career-low score which was 307. I kept the girls as calm as possible, and they clearly had fun.”
