Sophomore trio anchors Dr. Phillips girls golf

DR. PHILLIPS — A season ago, the Dr. Phillips girls golf team placed fourth in the state in Class 3A, just ahead of the Panthers’ biggest rival, West Orange.

Although that team of five golfers is now without its two seniors who have since graduated — Sophie Benetti, now at Indiana State, and Cristine Lee — it benefits from having three golfers back who played on the biggest stage in the state as freshmen. Now sophomores, Carlye Moore, Jennifer Jung and Emma Hallson are ready for more.

“It was pretty great, actually,” Moore said of her experience at state as a freshman. “There’s mostly seniors (at state), I think, so it felt great to go as a freshman. It was pretty awesome.”

Their journey in 2014 — from wide-eyed newbies to forces to be reckoned with — is a transformation that has excited veteran coach Tony Wilson about having the trio in the program for this season and two more after.

“I’d say they have grown by leaps and bounds,” Wilson said.

In addition to their abilities, the journey through districts, regionals and to state in 2014 has helped the three standouts progress in handling increasingly bigger stages.

“I struggle with (the pressure) a little,” Hallson admitted. “But now I know that if I can go that far and handle that much pressure, I can do bigger and better things.”

Of the three, Jung placed the highest at the state tournament, tying for 18th place — not too shabby, considering the now-sophomore only moved to America from South Korea before her freshman season at Dr. Phillips. 

Having Lee, who is also Korean, on the team during her freshman year was a great aid to Jung, who said the language barrier has been her greatest challenge but that participating on the team has been very rewarding and helpful with her transition.

The girls shared an experience of playing in state as freshmen and also shared a common focus in the offseason of improving on their respective short games. 

“That’s atypical — most players want to work on their full swing, but two-thirds of the game is short game,” Wilson said. “That’s abnormal for them to want to do that (focus on their short game), so that tells us that they understand what they’ve got to do to get better.”

Dr. Phillips opened the season with a win against Ocoee and then placed fifth at an invitational tournament at MetroWest Golf Club this past weekend. It has done so, so far, without Hallson, who is rehabbing an injury to her left wrist — though she has found other ways to help the team.

“It’s been good for her to observe — she’s almost an assistant coach for me,” Wilson said. “She’s done wonders with the newbies. She should be back shortly — we don’t have a timetable, but I would expect that she’ll be fine.”

Hallson may be growing into an extension of the coaching staff, but all three girls still have a great deal of respect for the team’s captain, Jovani Culver, who provides necessary senior leadership on the roster.

“She is the rock of the team,” Wilson said. “Jovani is a three-sport athlete, so she understands the concept of team chemistry.”

With Hallson recovering from injury and two departures from last year’s roster, Wilson is not approaching this season as one where a state championship is the expectation. Rather, he said he hopes to see the team get through regionals to compete at state again and, more importantly, to see his talented core of sophomores continue to grow.

“Big picture is what coaches look at,” Wilson said. “The outcome, longterm, is favorable. The future is bright, as they say.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].