Lady Cards golf heading to State

The Columbus Lady Cardinal golf team is heading to the State Championship for the sixth consecutive year after the team competed at the Regional Meet last week in Victoria.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the effort these girls gave over the 36 holes of golf. They kept their composure and determination even if things turned against them for a bit,” Lady Cards head golf coach Andy Jacobs said.

The Lady Cards faced several early challenges at the Regional Meet including a particularly tough par 5 hole to start their day. The Lady Cards did not let that rattle them and finished with a team total of 401.

The Lady Cards finished in 3rd place and were only seven shots away from taking home silver and only eight shots ahead of 4th place.

Leading the way for the Lady Cards was Sydnie Shepard who shot a 93 and a 94, next was Thea Schobel who shot a 98 and a 90, followed by Katharine Burnett who shot a 113 and a 94. Mady Garcia shot a 104 and a 107 and Madison McRee shot a 106 and a 108.

The Lady Card improved by 16 shots on the second day and that helped them move into 2nd place in the Region 4 Championship.

“Golfers can be a different type of athlete. For two days the girls were supportive of each other, but their main focus was to do their very best as individuals. They were all aware that if each of them did well, the team would be successful. They did, however, become very aware and excited as they finished their second round. We had had a slightly worse than average day on Monday, so all of them wanted to play better on Tuesday,” Jacobs said. “As we started to finish, they became aware that we had done well, including passing district rival Industrial.”

Jacobs said that Industrial had beaten the Lady Cards earlier this year to take the District Championship from them and was not too sure if the girls were more excited about making it to State or beating Industrial.

“I’m not totally sure they weren’t more excited about that (beating Industrial), as it was more tangible in the moment,” Jacobs said.

The Lady Cards lost two seniors last year and Jacobs did not know what to expect from the team this season. He ended up being pleasantly surprised by his team.

“Losing two good seniors from last year’s team, I thought we may take a step back a little this year. Then about December Sydnie said she was going to play this year. She had never played competitive golf- in fact she was all softball her first 3 years of High School. I really didn’t know what to expect,” Jacobs said. “She has made amazing strides as a player just starting out. Not only that but her demeanor is perfect for the game. She doesn’t get too upset at things or too excited -she keeps an even keel, and I think it rubs off on the others. Thea is starting to round into form, as she had a delayed start due to basketball playoffs. I can’t say enough about Katharine and Mady. Both have dropped their average scores about 8 shots over last year. They both work very hard at trying to improve. Madison McRee has been a very nice addition as a freshman. She works very hard and really takes the game seriously. The whole group has put in many hours of practice, and most of all their knowledge of the little things that make a good player has improved in all of them.”

Jacobs is undeniably proud of his group, he knows the time, energy and effort they have given and cannot wait to see them tee off at State.

“I am so excited for these kids. I know how much they have worked and sacrificed to get to this point. I know how far they have come from where they started. Golf is not the easiest sport to learn and compete at. These young ladies have made such impressive strides, I couldn’t help but be proud of them,” Jacobs said.

The Lady Cards will travel to Austin on April 28 and 29 to play at the Jimmy Clay Golf Course where they will look to add to Columbus’ trophy case.