Hannah Lewis-led Plainwell defends Wolverine Conference girls golf title – MLive.com
Scott DeCamp | Kalamazoo Gazette, September 29, 2011 5:57 p.m.
Plainwell senior Hannah Lewis watches her putt on the No. 8 green during Thursday’s Wolverine Conference Tournament at Lake Cora Hills Golf Club in Paw Paw. Lewis won medalist honors with a 3-over 75. – (John A. Lacko | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette)
Plainwell senior Hannah Lewis
Vicksburg senior Sarah Manski chips onto the 12th green on the way to her runner-up round of 8-over 80. – (John A. Lacko | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette)
PAW PAW — For the most part, Hannah Lewis dodged trouble during her 18-hole round in the Wolverine Conference Tournament Thursday at Lake Cora Hills Golf Club.
The Plainwell senior standout carded three birdies, four bogeys and one double-bogey, then avoided the heavier rain that fell as she submitted her medalist-winning scorecard featuring a 3-over 75.
Lewis succumbed to emotion in the clubhouse moments later, however. She collected the “Outstanding Golfer” award and seized the team trophy commemorating the Trojans’ second straight Wolverine title. She shared hugs with teammates and opponents alike, and posed for pictures. It all brought back memories, which in turn triggered the tears.
“I’ve had a great four-year run and I’m going to cry because …,” Lewis, two-time Wolverine tourney medalist, said before she began to sob mid-sentence. ” … It’s been such a good four years and I’ve never been involved in sports and it’s just been with my family and I’m so sad that it’s all done. It’s been so amazing and I love everyone and it’s such a great group of people and everyone is so supportive. It’s been really fun.”
The run for Lewis and her Plainwell teammates is not over just yet. They achieved one of their two primary goals, dominating the Wolverine tourney with a 356 to clinch the championship in front of runner-up Allegan (381) and third-place Vicksburg (385).
The Trojans’ other goal is to advance to the Division 3 state finals as a team — Lewis placed ninth individually at the state finals last year — and that quest begins with regionals next Thursday at Battle Creek’s Binder Park Golf Course.
“They’re just great, hard-working girls. We practice in bad weather, we practice in cold. If it’s raining and storming, we go sit in a little area and talk about golf rules,” said Plainwell’s Bart Lewis, who was voted the Wolverine’s coach of the year after leading the Trojans to their second league title in “about 20 years” of golf.
“I’m losing six seniors this year, so we’ll have a real young team next year. I think it was important for them — they knew they had a shot to win the conference. Next year may be tougher. If you don’t have a Hannah Lewis, it’s hard to do,” added Lewis, whose daughter, Hannah, is verbally committed to Bowling Green State University.
Plainwell senior Erika Havenaar and junior Darby Wagner each shot 92 to tie for seventh Thursday. Vicksburg senior Sarah Manski was second with an 80 and Allegan senior Allison Visuri third (83).
Manski averaged 42.9 per nine holes en route to the All-Wolverine runner-up spot behind Lewis (37.9), including sub-40 scores that gave her a big boost of confidence.
“It helped me realize that I was better than I thought I was. I raised my standards so that I could keep up,” Manski said. “After a while, it was mainly about keeping it under my average whenever I played so that I could keep dropping my average. My average last year was like 49 — anything was better. I was trying to pull it back down.”
In the league’s final team standings, Vicksburg and Allegan tied for second behind Plainwell. Paw Paw was fourth and Otsego fifth.
“We’ve gone from eighth (place) to fourth to second,” smiling Allegan coach Steve Angle about his program’s three-year progression. “There’s only one way to cut that down.”
Contact Scott DeCamp at sdecamp@kalamazoogazette.com or 269-388-8518.