All was in line for the Fayetteville-Manlius girls golf team to claim sole possession of the CNY Counties League regular-season championship.
But Auburn had other ideas, as it defended its home turf at Owasco Country Club Friday afternoon and beat the Hornets 183-206, part of a three-way match where F-M did defeat Baldwinsville, who shot 218.
F-M had won their first encounter back on April 17, 178-186, but that was at the Hornets’ home course, Green Lakes. Owasco provided an entirely different challenge, with large, fast greens and bunkers to carry on every approach shot. Plus, F-M was playing its fourth match in as many days, a tall task for anyone, especially against a quality opponent like Auburn.
The Maroons’ familiarity with the Owasco layout trumped the fact that two key players were missing. One of them was not Larissa Carter, though, and the Maroons’ standout proved great again, shooting a 39 as teammates Kaitlin Hywa (47) and Hannah Lesch (48) helped out.
Carter, Hywa and Lesch all finished ahead of the Hornets’ top individual, Alexandra Millimaci, who had a 49. Natalie Powers shot 50, while Allison Donella managed a 53. Kristen Gamble got a 54 as Annie Caputo and Mackenzie Kingsley both shot 57. That depth helped overcome B’ville’s effort as Katie Walsh led the Bees with a 42.
When the Hornets beat Oswego 178-214 last Tuesday at Green Lakes, it finished just two shots off the single-match team record of 176 set in 2011, as six different players broke 50 for nine holes.
Caputo and Donella led the way, each posting a 43. Gamble stepped up to shoot a 46, matching Millimaci, while Kingsley and Powers both posted rounds of 48. Sally Trop contributed a 52.
They played through the rain on Wednesday at Westvale, where the Hornets knocked off West Genesee 182-197. Millimaci led with a 41, five shots ahead of Powers, while Donella managed a 47 and Caputo posted a 48, the same score as WG’s top player, Danielle Schmidt.
In its third match in as many days, the Hornets went to Rogues Roost and got a decent challenge from Cicero-North Syracuse, but still beat the Northstars 184-198.
Donella, with a 41, had the top individual score by four shots over Millimaci and C-NS’s Brianna Sovring. Caputo followed up with a 48, while Kingsley managed a 50.
One week remained in the regular season before F-M could turn its attention to the May 21 Section III tournament at Kanon Valley. Some of the top Hornets went there to practice on Saturday, knowing that they’ll get another shot at Auburn while vying for berths in the state tournament at SUNY-Delhi in early June.
