The DCHS Golf teams sent three players to the State Tournament at Willowbrook in Manchester on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Sophomore, Mallory Sullivan shot an 80 on Tuesday and a 73 on Wednesday for a total of 153, giving her second play in the tournament.
Sullivan was just six shots behind State Champion Marlee Ingram of Creekwood, who shot a total of 147.
Kalli Mitchell shot a total of 194 in the tournament. The senior shot a 98 on Tuesday and a 96 on Wednesday, to finish out her high school career.
On the boys side, sophomore Ethan Roller shot an 85 on Tuesday and a 76 on Wednesday, for a total of 161 for the tournament. This year’s Boys State Champion is Dowling Armstrong of David Lipsomb, who shot a 138.
Sullivan, who competed in the state tournament last year, said she was pleased with her overall performance. “The first day, I was striking the ball really good. I just wasn't there with my short game. After the round, I practiced my putting and my chipping. The second day, my short game was a lot better. I didn't hit theball as good, but everything turned out better. The competition this year was really hard. Players like Sara Dolmovich (Signal Mountain) and Sophia Shubert (Christian Academy of Knoxville), are really good players. To beat them gives me a lot of confidence,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan commented on her fellow teammates, “It's Kalli's senior year and she made it to the state this year. I was really proud of her. Ethan has also done great all year. He could have won,” she said.
Mallory stated, “I would like to thank everyone who has supported the golf teams this year and to everyone who came out and watched me play today. I also want to thank Joe Pat Cope for being a wonderful coach this year, and to my family for supporting me.”
Coach Cope stated, “Mallory was so mature today. This is her second year at the state, and she is only a sophomore. We've got a fifteen-year-old sophomore out there, but she shot today like a seasoned pro. I was just tickled with the way she played.”
“It was Kalli's senior year. She ended up in the top half. She had a couple of big numbers, made an eight and a nine which kind of hurt her, but Kalli has worked on her game and has come around so much. We hate to lose Kalli. I want to commend her. In the off-season she really dedicated herself and worked on her game, and it paid off. It was Kalli's first appearance in the state tournament, and she had a great finish. It just goes to show what good work ethic will do for you,” Cope stated.
“As for Ethan, he got off to a rough start. He had a couple of bad breaks. A couple of balls went out of bounds. They didn't fly, took a couple of bad hops, and ended up out of bounds. It was his first year there, and he may have had some jitters. But after that, he came back and shot four over for his next twenty-seven holes which would have gotten hip a top five. I know its no consolation, but Ethan has the type of mentality and attitude, expecting to win and he had the game to do so,” added Coach Cope.
The Smithville Review would like to congratulate the DCHS golf team on a great season and commend those that went on to the State Tournament!