This story is sponsored by Forward Financial Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield girls golf team finished fourth in the Clover Valley Golf League this season, which was the middle of the pack in the seven-team conference.
However, the improvement the Tigers have shown this season has first-year coach Ashley Lorenzen excited for the postseason.
Marshfield heads into the WIAA Division 1 sectional at Stevens Point Country Club on Wednesday playing its best golf of the season.
Seniors Ana Jensen, Jordyn Fitzgerald and Patty Bloczynski, and sophomore Roma Shah make up the Tigers’ roster, and all have been able to shave strokes off their scores throughout the season.
“I’m excited about regionals, really hopeful,” Lorenzen said. “The girls have all vastly improved. Roma is in the 60s, she was in the 70s when we started. Patty was in the 60s when we started and she’s in the 50s. Jordyn was around 50 and is down in the 40s.
“Stevens Point’s a hard course, we all know that, and luckily we’ve played it this year, and we’ve played the back nine, which is the harder one. I’m hopeful and excited.”
Marshfield had its best team finish of the CVGL season at Stevens Point Country Club on Sept. 11, taking third with a score of 217, one shot behind Eau Claire Regis for second.
While the team score wasn’t their lowest of the season, the Tigers showed at that meet, on a difficult course, that they can compete at a high level.
Jensen has emerged as clear No. 1 for the Tigers, after finishing fourth or better at four of the six Clover Valley meets. She shot a 43 to tie for third at Marshfield’s home meet on Sept. 22 at Marshfield Country Club and added a fifth-place finish with a 45 at the final CVGL individual meet last Thursday at Pine Valley Golf Course in Marathon to clinch third in the overall season standings. She earned first-team all-conference honors. Fitzgerald ended up seventh in the standings and was a second-team all-CVGL honoree.
Lorenzen said Jensen has worked hard to put herself in the position she is in heading into the regional.
“Early in the year, coming on as a new coach and not knowing the girls, not knowing where to place them (in the lineup), she was neck and neck with some of the other girls,” Lorenzen said. “She was like, ‘I need your help, I need you to line me up.’ She really wanted to use me as a coach, and I’m thankful for that. I think that’s really helped her out.
“She’s focused when she plays, she doesn’t look at what else is going on, and she plays smart. I think she’s got a beautiful golf swing and I couldn’t be happier with her performance.”
The top four teams and top four individuals not on those teams at the regional will advance to the Division 1 Tomah sectional. The top two teams and three individuals not on those teams at the sectional move on to the 2015 WIAA State Girls Golf Tournament at University Ridge Golf Club in Verona on Oct. 12-13.
WIAA Girls Golf Postseason Schedule
Division 1 regional at Stevens Point Country Club, Sept. 30, 9 a.m.
Teams: Holmen, La Crosse Central/Logan, Marshfield, Onalaska, Sparta, Stevens Point, Tomah, Westby/Viroqua, Wisconsin Rapids.
Division 1 sectional at Hiawatha Golf Course, Tomah, Oct. 5, 9 a.m.
Additional teams: Chippewa Falls/McDonell, Eau Claire Memorial, Eau Claire North, Hudson, New Richmond, Rice Lake, River Falls, Superior.
WIAA State Girls Golf Tournament
Oct. 12-13, University Ridge Golf Club, Verona