The Dalles golfers had one of their best tournament efforts of the season in Pendleton Thursday with an average score of 123 for a four-person tally of 492. In the photo are, from left to right, Eliana Ortega, Samantha Stansbury, Lydia Evans and Bella Evans.
The Dalles golfers had one of their best tournament efforts of the season in Pendleton Thursday with an average score of 123 for a four-person tally of 492. In the photo are, from left to right, Eliana Ortega, Samantha Stansbury, Lydia Evans and Bella Evans.
When Eliana Ortega is on her game, The Dalles girls’ golf team has the ability to put forth a collaborative effort to compete in every tournament.
Ortega paced the Riverhawks with her season-best scorecard of the spring with a 118, as she shot a 56 on the front-nine and added a 62 on the final half for her solid totals in tournament action Thursday at Pendleton Country Club.
“Eliana turned it on today, shooting not only the low score of the team, but her personal best of the season,” TD head coach Amy Wilson said.
Following Ortega’s performance, Samantha Stansbury started with a team-low 55 on the first nine holes and then she capped her afternoon with a 64 to get a final margin of 119.
Lydia Evans posted nine-hole splits of 60-67 to notch the team’s third-best mark of 127, and Bella Evans put out a 65-63 and a personal-best 128, which gave the Riverhawks their 492.
“They’ve been practicing a lot of putting and chipping and approach shots and they have also been working on just how to get out of trouble and they’ve been applying it in the tournaments and it’s working,” Wilson said. “Our focus today was on and around the greens, so it was great to see all that extra work pay off.”
Pendleton’s Megan George notched an 84 for medalist, 10 strokes ahead of her next opponent, Hermiston’s Leslie Browning (94) and 11 better than Grace Blackhurst (95), also of Hermiston.
After George’s top effort, teammates Rylee Harris (100, fifth place individually), Makenzie McLeod (102), Grace Broadfoot (129) and Sarah Powell (141), helped the Lady Buckaroos to second place in the team standings with their 415, 24 shots behind tournament champion, Hermiston (391).
Showing competent gains in support of Browning and Blackhurst, the Bulldogs had Sonja Peterson and Myka Krumwiede each posting 101 on their scorecards.
The Dalles has two more tournaments to play, before regional action on May 7-8.
In a month’s span, Wilson is noticing more and more growth, especially with Stansbury and the Evans duo, so once Ortega, the team’s No. 1 golfer, gets closer and closer to her usual 90s, things could get interesting down the stretch.
“After the past few tournaments, one aspect of this game that makes our ladies stand out is how well they recover from shots or scores they’re not happy with,” Wilson said. “They’ve learned what they need to do to correct those shots and they move on with positive attitudes. Even when their competitors are so negative on themselves, they stay focused on their own games and are reaping the benefits of those incredible attitudes and work ethics.”
TD travels to Bend in 18-hole action on the Awbrey Glen Golf Course for the Mountain View Invitational at 12:30 p.m. Monday.
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