District Roundup: Boys Golf, Girls Golf Sending Three Total

Both the boys and girls golf teams participated in the PIAA District One Tournament on Tuesday. The boys will play in the team match tomorrow, while the girls played in a combined team and individual match today.

The girls placed third out of four teams, playing at Gilbertsville Golf Club, with Radnor edging Mount Saint Joe's by one stroke to move on to Eastern Regionals. Individual play continues tomorrow and senior is the sole Ram to move on, shooting an 83. just missed the cutoff by four strokes, scoring a 90.

"I felt really bad for her. She really improved so much," head coach Patty Lebow said. "She was about a 100 last year, or so. She’ll be so ready for next year."

Alyssa Cominsky also benefitted from last year's experience. She shot a 101, improving by about 10 strokes from her 2010 performance.

"They did very nicely and I was very proud of them," Lebow said. "Next year, we have five juniors coming back and if everybody works hard over the summer, we should improve and have a better chance."

The boys squad will send freshman John Foley, who shot a team-high 72, and senior Tyler Keim, who shot a 77, to the second day of individual play tomorrow.

"Today was a great effort," said head coach Jeff Mast. "All three of the kids stepped up and got it done. John obviously hit an even par as a freshman and Tyler hit a 77. They’ll all be back tomorrow as a team. I couldn’t be happier."

The cutoff was 78, therefore, sophomore Bennett Detweiler, who shot an 80, did not make it. Detweiler still has accolades to be proud of, as he individual tournament a few weeks ago, which put him in a tough situation today.

"Bennett was placed in the premiere group," Mast said. "They put all the league champions in the same group. Some of these kids he was playing were three under par. He got introuble on the first hole and the second hole he stumbled. He stumbled out of the block then he settled down and played well the next 16 holes. You can’t make any major mistakes at this point, but I was really proud of the way he hung in there with a tough group. He could have completely folded but he didn’t."

Forecasts are calling for a 70-percent chance of rain on Wednesday, and possible showers overnight tonight. Therefore, conditions may change at .

"Tomorrow could be a little iffy," Mast said. "They’re calling for some rain tonight. I don’t know what the conditions are going to be like. It’s hard to say. The conditions might dictate how they do. But, all these guys, shooting 69, 70, 71, these kids can play whether it’s windy, wet, hot, cold – so, the weather shouldn’t have a big effect. I don’t expect these kids to struggle too much."

If Foley and/or Keim make it to next week's regional contest, it would be the first time ever a Spring-Ford golfer made it to that level. Mast has seen his golfers get to states before, but that was when kids were sent to states right from districts. Now, with regionals being a newer avenue to get to states, Mast said it's tougher to get to regionals than it is to states.

"I knew I was going to play good today," Foley said. "I felt good all day and in the morning warming up. I came out birdie my first hole and said 'This will be a good day for me. Just play smart and don't mess up.' I don't know if playing your own course is much of an advantage, but there's definitely more comfort."

Mast is excited to see Foley and Keim advance and is even more confident in Detweiler's future abilities.

"I use Bennett as a model for all these other kids," he said. "All year long, I tell them to be more like Bennett."