Dyar on fire
- Updated: March 16, 2019
White Plains junior bounces back from bad hole, birdies two coming home to finish in even-par, win medalist, lead team to title
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
GADSDEN – It’s been said the key to being a successful golfer isn’t what a player does after they’ve made a birdie or an eagle, it’s what they do after making bogey or other.
Hanna Dyar proved that point Saturday. The White Plains junior bounced back from what normally would have been a round-busting quadruple-bogey to play her final six holes in 2-under-par and shoot even-par 71 for medalist honors in the girls Kickoff Classic at Twin Bridges Golf Club.
Dyar won her second high school title by five shots over Jinger Heath of Hartselle. Grace Norrell of runner-up Arab was third (78).
“My mental game has really come on this year,” she said. “The last couple years it kind of held me back, thinking about my score too much, but I’ve really broken down, especially today, shot by shot.”
Her performance led White Plains to the team score a 235, its best score the last two seasons. They also counted a season-best 83 from Lexee Cunningham and a fourth-place 81 from freshman Baylie Webb, and won by 14 shots. Freshman Abby Gattis didn’t count in the team score, but she was tied for seventh overall with a career-best 84 her first time in the lineup.
Dyar was cruising along at 2-under when she came to the par-4 18th. She was plugged in the compacted sand and wound up making 8 that took her out of red numbers.
Undaunted, and helped by the shuttle ride to the next tee to refocus, she made a routine par on No. 1, had a three-foot putt for birdie on No. 2 and then made a three-foot birdie on 3 and a 10-footer for birdie on 4 to get back to even.
“On the ride over I was calming myself down,” she said. “I had a few minutes and I think that was really good.
“Before I probably would’ve turned around and made a few bogeys. We played in the Hoover tournament this past week and I think I was 4-over going to my last four holes and then I bogeyed three holes because I got too nervous about it. Today I did a really good job of just taking it shot by shot.”
GIRLS KICKOFF CLASSIC
At Twin Bridges G.C.
Team scores
White Plains 235
Arab 249
Hartselle Red 253
Westbrook Christian 281
Oak Mountain 282
Gadsden City 305
Glencoe 316
Cedar Bluff 339
Hartselle White 372
Piedmont 382
Hokes Bluff 422
Top 15 individuals
Hanna Dyar, WP 71
Jinger Heath, Hart-R 76
Grace Norrell, Arab 78
Baylie Webb, WP 81
x-Sydney Hanson, Boaz 82
Lexee Cunningham, WP 83
Abby Gattis, WP 84
Reagan Malone, Arab 84
x-Annamarie Thompson, Briarwood 85
Ella Howard, GC 86
x-Miranda Nassif, Etowah 86
Ellie Cothran, Arab 87
Lauren Temples, Hart-R 87
Lauren Cole, Glen 87
Lauren Weaver, WC 89
x-Caitlin Lewis, WP 89
x-Allison Arenth, WP 89
x-Competing as individuals
Tennis
Falcons finish long week
It has been a long grinding week for the Donoho tennis teams.
The Falcons have played three matches in five days against increasingly better competition. The run ended Friday with the girls powering past Sylvania 8-1 and the boys falling 5-4 at Anniston Country Club.
“It was a week that helped us get better,” Donoho coach Laurie Rigsby said. “It is always better to be playing and playing good matches. The more you can play the more you can improve and I think we did during the week.”
The Lady Falcons (7-1) swept all the singles matches. Emma Weidmer, Lily Grace Draper, Claire Walker and Mary Marshall Perry all won 8-0, while Claire Hillman won 8-1 and Virginia Hutto won 8-3.
Weidmer-Hutto won at No. 1 doubles 8-3 and Draper-Hillman won at No. 2, 8-1. The only Falcons loss came at No. 3 as Walker-Perry fell 8-5.
Sylvania rallied to win four singles matches and upend the Donoho boys.
Harrison Han and Cooper Montgomery won singles matches 8-1, while Montgomery-Gray Hanley (8-6) and Han-Rigsby (8-4) won their doubles matches for the Donoho points.
Both Donoho teams will play Pleasant Valley at Jacksonville State Tuesday. — Brant Locklier
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