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Friday, August 1, 2008
7A West Golf At A Glance
Western Arkansas, AR
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By: Don Lowe
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Photo(s) By: Tom Ewart
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Much like Bentonville in tennis, the Fayetteville Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs seem to play at a much different level in high school golf than most of their opponents.
As a result, there have been plenty of championship-caliber successes for head coach Kyle Adams' talented Fayetteville linksters in recent years.
The Lady Bulldogs, in particular, have been virtually unbeatable since 2005, with three consecutive state crowns. And, Adams contends that his girls team really feels as though they are still the team to beat. "They believe it's (title) is theirs, until somebody comes and takes it from them," Adams said.
Although they haven't claimed the first-place hardware their female counterparts have collected, Fayetteville's boys boasted an impressive state runner-up finish in '07 and are hopeful of building on that again this fall.
Most other schools throughout the league have their hopes of putting together successful '08 seasons as well. At the same time, though, they seem to all realize slowing down the Purple Reign in Fayetteville will be anything but easy. As Bentonville girls coach Lindsey Davis says, "Fayetteville is great. They are always so tough." And, it may be more of the same this time around.
Bentonville Tigers
Head Coach: Jeff McElroy
Welcome Back: Tanner Evans, Sr.; Cameron Kehoe, Sr.; Ben Sullivan, Jr.
Up and Coming: Brik Brauberger, Fresh.
McElroy Says … We’ll be competitive every time we go out there. But, golf’s a funny game … there are good days and bad days. Fayetteville and Rogers will be strong (in the 7A West), then you have Heritage (Rogers’ second high school). I like our chances.
Bentonville Lady Tigers
Head Coach: Lindsey Davis
Welcome Back: Lindsay Parks, Sr; Alex Kerby, Soph.
Up and Coming: Lauren Smart, Fresh.; Lauren Anderson, Fresh.; Elizabeth Chavez, Fresh.; Sidney Arend, Fresh.
Davis Says … I think what you’ll see happening with us is that we’ll have a slower start and build up. We’ll need to win some matches to build confidence, and I think we’ll do that.
Rogers Mountaineers
Head Coach: Marcus Alexander
Welcome Back: Hunter Mobley, Sr.; Matt Keller, Sr.; Weston Brooks, Sr.; Slade Hanes, Jr.
Up and Coming: Wyatt Hively, Jr.; Jes Sanders, Soph.; Jake Rylee, Soph.
Alexanders Says ... We probably have six or seven that will fight for the top five spots. The depth is going to be there for us. We have a great group of young players I'm real excited about. I see a good foundation for a few years to come.
Rogers Lady Mountaineers
Head Coach: Brenda Alexander
Welcome Back: Haley Sanders, Sr.; Jill Kinslow, Sr.; Mandy Laird, Sr.; Rosalynn Ziemba, Sr.
Up and Coming: Move-in Laura Beth DuBois, Sr.; Move-in Lindsey Wilson, Sr; Ashley Albright, Jr.; Kim Howk, Jr.; Stacy Nardoni, Jr.
Alexander Says … I think our group will be competitive. I think they get along real well and that’s important. They support each other very well.
Fayetteville Bulldogs
Head Coach: Kyle Adams
Welcome Back: Blake Beardon, Sr.; Tripp Shields, Sr.; Kyle Micah, Sr.; Eli Mattioli, Jr.; Clayton Spencer, Jr.; Christian Mills, Jr.
Up and Coming: Unsure about any potential rising stars
Adams Says … We need to get consistency in our numbers three, four, and five guys. If we can do that, we should have a chance to be pretty good. I’m looking forward to the year.
Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs
Head Coach: Kyle Adams
Welcome Back: Emma Levy, Sr.; Clancy Jones, Sr.
Up and Coming: Katie Petrino, Jr.; Olivia Levy, Fresh.; Shelby Daniels, Fresh.
Adams Says … We’ve won three straight state titles and four out of the last five. Our expectations are always high.
Fort Smith Northside Grizzlies
Head Coach: Donnie Matlock
Welcome Back:
Up and Coming:
Davis Says:
Fort Smith Southside Rebels
Head Coach: Pedro Sadler
Welcome Back: Travis Jumper, Sr.; Landon Lowther, Sr.
Up and Coming: Josh Canada, Jr.; Alec Heitanen, Jr.
Sadler Says … Really, for the first time in the last three or four years, I’ll have guys that only play golf. It’s a different group, because with these kids, this (play golf) is what they do. Our league’s good. We’re just hoping to qualify for state.
Fort Smith Southside Lady Rebels
Head Coach: Pedro Sadler
Welcome Back: Stephanie Tran, Sr.; Audra Sergant, Sr.
Up and Coming: Kelsey Hindman, Jr.
Sadler Says …: Fayetteville has dominated the last few years. We should probably be kind of in the middle of the pack. But, I think we’ll be competitive.
Heritage War Eagles
Head Coach: Jay Gilstrap
Welcome Back: No returnees; first-year program
Up and Coming: Jared Gilstrap, Jr.; Jack McMillan, Jr.; Chas Goines, Jr.; Hayden Baugh, Soph.; Taylor Goines, Soph.
Gilstrap Says … I think we’ll be competitive. Golf is such an emotional sport. The mental side of the game is something we’ll focus on a lot.
Heritage Lady War Eagles
Head Coach: Jay Gilstrap
Welcome Back: No returnees; first-year program
Up and Coming: Kaylie Reither, Soph.
Gilstrap Says … Kaylie has a great attitude and a great work ethic. We just need to get her a supporting cast. It will take a while to develop our program.
Springdale Bulldogs
Head Coach: Roger Voss
Welcome Back: Shay Baldwin, Sr.; Wesley Sowell, Sr.; Dallas Johnson, Sr; Zach Foster, Jr.
Up and Coming: Roles of younger players still being determined
Voss Says … I think we’ll be in the top three or four in the conference. It’s all about being on, on the right day. We have a pretty good schedule. Playing good competition should really help us.
Springdale Lady Bulldogs
Head Coach: Roger Voss
Welcome Back: Shauna Stevens, Sr.; Brooke Garrett, Jr.
Up and Coming: Morgan Johnson, Soph.
Voss Says … I think we’ll have a chance to do well as a team. After Fayetteville (in the conference), all the rest of us you can just throw in a basket.
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