Many a sports movie has tried to come up with the most agonizing way to lose. Few of those scripted endings can match how the Greenwood girls golf team went out last fall.
Playing in the New Palestine Sectional, the Woodmen finished just three strokes back of winner Greenfield-Central — surely good enough to earn one of the three regional berths at stake, correct?
Not so fast. Greenwood, New Pal and Pendleton Heights all finished in a tie for second.
Tiebreak procedures dictate going to the teams’ fifth score — and when it was all said and done, the Woodmen were the odd team out.
With only two of the five players from that lineup returning, junior Maura Guilfoy knew she’d have to shoulder a heavy burden this season, both in terms of scoring and in providing leadership for a young team that starts two freshmen and a sophomore.
"I knew that we had lost a lot of strong seniors last year, so I knew that we basically had to start over on the whole team bonding aspect of it," Guilfoy said. "We’ve gotten together a lot as a team to talk about not just golf, but everything in general, just so that we can have that good connection and good chemistry. That always ends up leading into playing and shooting better scores."
Though it’s been an up-and-down season thus far for Greenwood, first-year coach Thom Hord has been pleased with the job Guilfoy has done in helping to guide her young teammates.
In many cases, when one player is far more experienced than the others, there can be a disconnect with the rest of the team. That’s not happening with the Woodmen.
"She has really stepped up and been a leader and pulled every one of the other girls," Hord said. "Especially the young ones, the two freshmen and the sophomore, pulled them in and really made it a cohesive group."
While Guilfoy has been making life easier for her Greenwood teammates, she doesn’t always make it easy on herself. Hord notes that "Maura is her toughest critic," which could be both a positive and a negative depending on how a player responds to that internal pressure.
As she prepares to tee it up at today’s sectional with hopes of helping the Woodmen advance, or at least making it out to regional as an individual, Guilfoy is trying to find the right mental balance.
"I’ve been putting in a lot of effort outside of practice to just kind of trying to prepare. I just have to remember that I need to relax and have fun," she said. "It’s obviously a big day, and I want to do well, but I have to remember that I’ve worked hard, so if it doesn’t go the way I want, that’s okay."
The potential is definitely there for things to work out the way that Guilfoy wants. She’s gone as low as 78 for 18 holes this year, a number that would have allowed her to comfortably move on to the regional a year ago.
Hord is among those who see that as a realistic outcome today.
"I have confidence in her to do that, for sure," he said. "She’s one of the hardest workers on this team, and she wants to get better. She just grinds and grinds. I think, honestly, that she can flip that switch and score well enough to get out of that sectional.
"She can put it together. … When it all clicks, she’s really, really good."
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Johnson County’s girls golf teams are spread out at three different sectionals today. A look at who’s playing where:
Franklin Sectional
At The Legends
Teams participating: Center Grove, Franklin, Whiteland, Beech Grove, Franklin Central, Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Southport
Local players to watch: Lanie DeHaven, Meg Fosnot and Sage Parsetich, Center Grove; Ellie Beavins, Liv Parramore and Ava Ray, Franklin
New Palestine Sectional
At Hawk’s Tail
Teams participating: Greenwood, Greenwood Christian, Eastern Hancock, Greenfield-Central, Knightstown, Morristown, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine, Shelbyville, Southwestern, Triton Central
Local players to watch: Maura Guilfoy, Greenwood; Ashtyn Witte, GCA
Bloomington North Sectional
At Cascades
Teams participating: Edinburgh, Indian Creek, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Brown County, Columbus East, Columbus North, Edgewood,Martinsville, Owen Valley
Local players to watch: Morgan Calhoun, Edinburgh; Hannah Emenhiser, Indian Creek
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