Tecumseh girls win own golf invitational

Paige Watkins looked confident as she teed off on Hole No. 1 at the Hantz Golf club to open Tecumseh’s varsity girls Invitational on Monday under clear skies and moderate temperatures.Her form and confidence held up during the day and she finished leading all golfers with a low round of 82 to help give the Indians the title with an overall score of 385.The Tecumseh senior beat out her closest opponent, Vandercook Lake’s Jessica Bunch, by six strokes and her team’s overall tally finished eight strokes ahead of second place Bedford’s card of 393.“I’m very happy with the way the girls played,” said first year Tecumseh varsity coach Kerry Smith. “But what makes me even happier is that the girls aren’t satisfied with the way they played and were talking about where they need work. These girls are definitely driven and are eager to improve each time they play. As a coach, you can’t ask for much more than that.”The Indians carded 12 strokes less than Southeastern Conference (SEC) foe Monroe, the third place finisher. Chelsea placed fifth with 398, followed by Coldwater with 419. Vandercook Lake scored 420, Ann Arbor Greenhills, 464, and Ypsilanti, 496.Rounding out the top 10 golfers were Hannah Kochendoerfer of Bedford with 90, Gabby Triveline of Chelsea with 91, Alexis and Jordan Swatzke of Monroe with 92 and 94 respectively, Anna Wendorf of Coldwater and Rae Ann Schueller of Ann Arbor Greenhills, both with 96, Carley LaPlant of Tecumseh and Maggie Brown of Bedford with 97s, and Judy Kim of Chelsea with 99.Watkins birdied the par-four Hole. No. 2, and eagled the par-five hole No.14 en route to her 82.Coach Smith said Tecumseh’s LaPlant, a junior, struggled with lightning fast greens on the front nine, but adjusted on the back nine to shoot a 97 and tie for ninth place overall. Senior Becca Nowak carded 102 while senior Leigh Kapnick shot 104.Junior Anneka Hart rounded out the scoring as Tecumseh's if-needed tiebreaker, shooting 115.Tecumseh faces both Bedford and Monroe again at home on Thursday, Aug. 23, in regular season SEC action.Tecumseh finished fifth at a shortened Chelsea Invitational on Thursday, Aug. 16 to open the season. Threatening weather at Reddeman Farms Golf Club shortened the invitational to just nine holes with a plus par-format determining the outcome. Lansing Catholic Central (18 over par) won the event while Jackson Northwest (+35) was second and Chelsea (+39), third.LaPlant led Tecumseh with a seven over par outing.