GIRLS GOLF: Crusaders bring home state title

Faith Lutheran fights elements to take state crown

Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night could prevent the Faith Lutheran girls golf team from winning its first state championship.

Fighting the elements as well as a solid Incline High School squad, from northern Nevada, the Crusaders brought home the title by shooting a 721 for the abbreviated tournament held at Genoa Lakes Golf Club in Genoa. Incline finished 14 strokes behind Faith Lutheran with a 27-hole total of 735.

Not only did the Crusaders bring home the championship in their first year playing at the 3A level, but junior Jacqui Siipola won the individual state title after shooting a 20-over-par 128. Siipola earned the crown after beating Pahrump Valley's Darla Hopkins and Incline's Ashley Wood in a playoff.

Siipola knocked home a 35-foot birdie putt on the second hole of the playoff to beat Hopkins and earn the title of state champion. Siipola was extremely confident before her big shot.

"I wasn't that surprised at all when I hit that shot," Siipola said. "I like situations like that. I thrive under pressure."

But head coach Mark Cheney thought the putt Siipola made on the preceding hole was just as important, if not more so.

"There was a three-way playoff on the first hole," Cheney said. "All three of them (Siipola, Hopkins, Wood) missed the green. And she (Siipola) was actually the farthest from the green. She had to make a 6-foot putt just to make par and stay in the playoff to move on to the next hole. I think that that putt that she made was just as clutch as the one she made to win."

And Cheney knew his Crusaders had a shot this year with his solid nucleus.

"We have three girls that on any given day could finish first," Cheney said. "She (Siipola) played No.1 for us for the past two years, so I knew she was definitely capable of posting a good score as well as the other two girls."

Those other two girls who make up the nucleus of Cheney's talented young squad are senior Kelly Jeon, who shot a 130 and finished fourth at state; and sophomore Candra Sumedhatip, who shot a 132 and was fifth. Cheney cited the efforts the two had made to improve as part of the reason why the Crusaders were so successful. The team finished first in four and second in three of its seven matches this season.

"Kelly (Jeon) was only two shots out of the playoff. For the year, her average was the second best on the team," Cheney said. "She has really improved a lot over the last three years. She just started playing competitive golf as a sophomore.

"She is the only one graduating on our team. Our four, five and six players will have to improve to replace Kelly's score. But I do feel we'll have an excellent chance next year (to repeat as state champs)."

If Faith Lutheran does win state again next year, sophomore Sumedhatip will definitely be one of the big reasons why.

"She (Sumedhatip) has an outstanding work ethic," Cheney said. "She spends more time at the range than anybody else. And there are days when practice will end and then she'll go and play nine holes on her own with her dad. And it shows in her score because she had the lowest regular season average of anyone on our team."

Two other sophomores who helped the Crusaders bring the trophy back to Summerlin were Becca Reighard (162), who finished 19th in state and Kaitlin Main (169), who ended up in 27th. Sophomores Reba Schneiderman and Mary Baldau make up the balance of Faith Lutheran's roster.

Cheney was extremely happy -- but not really that surprised -- that his team had won the championship.

"I think I felt a sense of fulfilment after we won," said Cheney. "I knew we had the ability. As soon as the weather deteriorated, it made it more uncertain because all our girls are from Las Vegas and they haven't played in the cold weather before. There was really no prediction on how they would respond to the weather."

The squad learned from the first day in Genoa and went out and bought hats, scarves and long underwear to help battle Mother Nature.

"Coming back the second day, they definitely knew what to expect after experiencing the first day and I think that made the difference," Cheney said. "They were ready for it."

And Cheney said he saw that confidence in his individual state champion.

"That second day when we came back after the suspended round, despite the bad weather, she (Siipola) had a great attitude about it," Cheney said. "She said, 'We got this.' "

And Siipola thinks that both she and the team could repeat as state champions again next year.

"I think that if I work hard in the offseason and improve my game a little, that I can win it again," Siipola said. "And I think if the whole team works at it, that we can improve a lot and win it again."

Cheney understands the significance of the school winning the state title in just its first year competing in the 3A class.

"I knew we had the potential to challenge for the state title," Cheney said. "It is really exciting because this is our first year in 3A. And Incline, who finished second, also played in the 2A for the past four years. We had finished behind them (Incline) the last four years. So they moved up to 3A and we moved up to 3A and this is the first time we have beaten them."

But Cheney also knows repeating as state champs won't be an easy task.

"I think the level of competition has continually improved over the past five years," Cheney said. "So while we've improved, the other teams we compete against are definitely improving, as well. And they'll also be improved next year, so we will have our work cut out for us."


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