With three starters from last year’s West Liberty High School Comet girls’ golf team returning to the links, veteran coach James Laughlin has high hopes to see improvement on this year’s squad which plays their home outings at West Liberty Golf & Country Club.
“We started to really improve toward the end of last season,” said Laughlin, hoping his six-member team will make even bigger improvements this year.
The Comets have three returning seniors including Aly Harned, who had a 53.9 average over nine holes a year ago and marked a 106.8 average for 18 holes, as well as Mylei Henderson, who finished with a 68.5 average for nine holes and Cassie Aleman, who average 71.5 per nine holes.
“Aly is poised for a really good year,” said Laughlin, pointing out Henderson and Aleman both improved a great deal last season and he’s looking for that to continue.
The coach said the team is low in numbers and will hope to find some depth in order to compete as a team, but that will depend on how quickly a trio of promising freshmen come around, which include Grace Ortiz, Addison Beaver and Daisy Kivi.
“I think individually we can have some good scores,”Laughlin said. “”But we’re also hoping the young golfers come along and we can start competition as a team (need four golfers) later in the season.”
He said the team’s strengths rely on the experience of the seniors on the team, but said weakness is again a weakness, hoping to see a lot of improvement from the freshmen to help contribute to the team.
The Comets open their season this Monday, March 28, in a dual match with West Branch in West Liberty beginning at 4 p.m. before going to a six team tournament the following Monday, April 4, beginning at 9 a.m., when they battle Anamosa, Camanche, Don Bosco Catholic, Lone Tree and Maquoketa at Fawn Creek Golf Course in Anamosa.
The team follows with five dual matches against Iowa City Regina, Tipton, Durant, Mid-Prairie and Tipton along with tournaments at Kalona Country Club on April 21 in Kalona, Wahkonsa Golf Course in Durant on April 29, May 6 at Timberline Golf Course in Peosta, May 6 at Tipton Golf and Country Club and finishing the season in a four-team meet at Cedars Edge Golf Course in West Branch.