Placing in the top three teams at the Regional tournament has put the FHC girls varsity golf team on the road to the state tournament. On Thursday, October 12 they matched up with strong competition at Lincoln Golf Club in Muskegon.

Head coach Paul TenEyck was pleased with the results of Regionals and the team qualified for states.

“It was great to finish 3rd and now we get to move onto the state championships,” TenEyck said.

Although this was a team effort, two individuals really helped boost the team into one of those leading spots. Sophomore Ally Ringler and junior Kayley Reynolds both had stellar performances, with Ally shooting an 86 and Kayley shooting a 90.

The day ended with a celebration, but the poor start was not telling of how the team would finish.

“Overall our team started really slow,” TenEyck said. “We were not playing well in our first four or five holes but the girls hung in there and really turned it on towards the end.”

The team struggled mostly with meeting par on those first couple holes, but Coach TenEyck was confident in their abilities to clean it up.

“We did not quit because we knew we had a chance and the girls kept fighting,” TenEyck said.

All teammates and coaches can agree that the golfers played much better on their back nine than the front nine.

With Regionals under their belt, the Lady Rangers are confident heading into the state finals next Friday and Saturday but only five girls can play. Ally Ringler, Kayley Reynolds, and Paige Snyder are the only three locked in to play with the other two spots still waiting to be filled. Early this week the girls will compete to claim the other two spots for the weekend.

The team is looking forward to finishing the season strong Friday and Saturday this weekend in Battle Creek for the State Championship.

“We want to finish in the top ten,” TenEyck said. “This is a celebration for how hard we worked this season.”