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The Victoria College. Full-time salaried position with benefits available...
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The Lady Bulldogs found themselves tied for first place and another team breathing down their necks just four shots back after the opening day and their 26-year streak of making the state tournament on the line.
With the pressure building, Lady Bulldogs coach Nicco Brown found out just how her team would respond.
Despite some shaky times, the Lady Bulldogs were able to keep their state tournament streak intact.
The Lady Bulldogs will be making their 27th straight appearance to the Class 3A state tournament that begins today at 7:30 a.m. at the Roy Kizer Golf Course in Austin. The final round will be Friday.
After an opening-round 338 at the regional tournament, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves tied for first with Medina Valley and Devine lurking just four shots back at 342.
Yoakum struggled to a final-round 358 to finish 14 shots back of Medina Valley, but was able to fend off any other challenges to finish as the runner-up for the ninth time.
“I could obviously tell that they were feeling the pressure because they weren’t playing as they normally do,” Brown said. “It probably could have been worse, but they still did OK.”
Junior Brittany Miears agreed with her coach.
“It was tough,” Miears said. “I know I was trying not to make mistakes instead of just playing like we usually do.”
Helice Migl paced Yoakum at the regional tournament with a 79-88-167, while Miears followed with an 80-89-169. Hope Koenning added an 84-88-172 and was followed by Larissa Loredo (95-93-188) and Dee Ann Stastny (95-93-188).
Brown hopes to take the experience the Lady Bulldogs learned from the regional tournament to make a run at a ninth state championship, even though she knows it will be a difficult task.
“I don’t think they will feel the pressure like some of the other teams since they aren’t predicted to do much,” Brown said. “I think they’re just going to go out and play and that’s going to help us at least for day one. They know what the other teams have shot and they know the competition.”
Yoakum will enter the tournament with the fifth-best regional score with the strongest competition coming from Region I in Andrews and Monahans. Andrews, the defending state champion, shot a two-day 629 to win Region I, while Monahans was the runner-up at 637.
China Spring, the sixth-place finisher last year at state, brings in the third-best regional score with a 674 in Region III, while Medina Valley follows at 680. The only other team in the field from last year’s state tournament is Frisco-Wakeland, the Region II winner with a score of 728. The rest of the field includes Crockett (756) and Mabank (767).
“The thing is I feel we will be able to compete with any of them,” Brown said.
And no doubt the Lady Bulldogs know what it takes to reach the medal stand, having medaled 21 of the 26 times they have made the tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs will also be joined at the state tournament by schoolmate, Garrett Nobles, who earned a spot in the boys tournament as an individual medalist.
Nobles finished fifth at the regional tournament after posting a 78-75-153
On the boys side, Medina Valley will be trying to defend its state title by sending two teams to the tournament after dominating the Region IV-3A tournament.
Four teams from last year’s field –Gatesville, Graham, Longview Spring Hill and Atlanta – return to try and unseat the Panthers. The rest of the field is Abilene Wylie, and Waco Robinson.