Koecher Wins Uphill Battle, Earns Another Trip To Sectional

Amelie Koecher isn’t used to having to dig herself out of a hole coming off the tee on the golf course.

But that was the scenario for the plucky Evanston senior time and time again Thursday at the Class 2A New Trier Regional tournament at Winnetka Golf Course.

Koecher won the uphill battle she faced on several holes, and earned her third trip to the Illinois High School Association sectional tournament --- no Wildkit girl has qualified more than once in program history --- by claiming an at-large individual berth with a score of 87.

Koecher’s 87 ranked second best among the individual qualifiers --- behind the meet medalist, Glenbrook South’s Effie Perakis at an even par 71 --- as Evanston placed 7th in the 8-team field with a score of 424.

Glenbrook North (313), Loyola Academy (330) and New Trier (334) all advanced full teams to Monday’s sectional tournament set for Heritage Oaks Golf Course in Northbrook. That’s where Koecher hopes to take the next step in her high school career as she seeks to become the first ETHS female golfer ever to advance to the Illinois High School Association state finals.

She added to her resume Thursday with a score that ranked 10th overall in the field at the regional. No Wildkit girl has cracked the top 10 at a regional in the history of the program.

Whether or not she makes it to State, however, Koecher isn’t putting pressure on herself any more on the links. She’s taking each competition one shot at a time after abandoning the idea of playing on the collegiate level, a decision she and her family reached last summer.

Now she’s in it for fun --- although she didn’t have a lot of fun coming off the tee Thursday. That’s why you’ll find her at the driving range between now and the sectional showdown on Monday.

“I played well today, for not hitting a lot of ideal first shots,” Koecher said. “My driver really hasn’t been consistent lately and I don’t really know where the ball is going most of the time. On the shots I hit on the fairway, I did get a lot of good looks at the hole.

“The last couple of rounds I’ve played my tee shots have been a problem. Usually, I hit straight down the middle and I don’t even have to think about it. So now I have something to work on, and I usually play my best when I have the most confidence coming off the tee.

“I didn’t let myself get super freaked out today when I didn’t hit well off the tee. I thought I showed pretty good ability to make do without having a good first shot. Now, once I figure everything out, I know I’ll be ready to play better.”

“Our slogan is that if you hit a bad first shot, you can always hit a good second shot to make up for it,” said ETHS head coach Karilyn Joyce. “Amelie has struggled with her drives the past 2 weeks, but other than that, she did a great job today. She’s having fun now and there’s no pressure. She has nothing to lose. I’m really pleased with her round --- and with her head space, because she’s not letting (bad) things get to her like she has in the past.”

The Wildkits also counted a 55-55-110 from senior Audrey Norris, a 51-60 -111 from sophomore Mari Frigo, and a 58-58-116 from freshman Vinisha Vig. Also competing for the Kits were senior Kylie Kimmel, at 46-61-117, and sophomore Lili Proctor, at 76-70-146.

As much as she’s enjoying her final season of competitive golf now, Koecher still wants to keep playing for at least another week.

“The difference between now and the first couple of times I made it to the sectional? I have more confidence this time,” said the senior standout. “If I can fix everything I need to fix, and get more shots on the fairway, I think I have a pretty good shot at State.

“I’m cutting myself some slack and not putting any pressure on myself anymore. But it would be pretty cool to make it to State as a senior.”