Ada girls improve at Tish tourney

Ada Evening News

Ada — TISHOMINGO — The Ada Lady Cougar golf team, participating in only their second tournament, showed much improvement from just a week ago. All six girls lowered their individual scores at the Tishomingo Municipal Golf Course and Newakis Girdley, shot a score of 99 to finish in sixth place in the medalist race. As a result, the team consisting of Girdley, Alanah Canfield, Mechel Dickerson, Charlesey YoungWolfe and Kyndel Carter scored a 467, 16 strokes better than their first outing. Elisah Canfield, playing as an individual, also improved her score.

“The girls are really battling to get better,” said Ada coach Ron Anderson. “The hard work during practice is showing positive results. They realize they are getting better, but, as with most golfers, they want instant success. I have to remind them every day that we are running a marathon not a sprint and it will take time.”

Time however is getting a little shorter as the Lady Cougars will participate in only two more tournaments before the regional tournament in just two weeks. Next up for the Lady Cougar will be at the Pauls Valley tournament on Friday. They will then travel to OKC’s Lake Hefner Golf Course hosted by Putnam City North April 22 and compete against the best 5A and 6A opponents.

Ada Individual Results

Newakis Girdley             99 (6th Place)

Alanah Canfield             121

Kyldle Carter                 122

Mechel Dickerson           125

Charlesey YoungWolfe    125

Elisah Canfield              130

Lady Cougars Compete In First Tournament

ATOKA — Ada’s first ever girls full golf team played in the Allen Tournament on Thursday at Atoka Trails Golf Course. With senior Newakis Girdley’s score of 110 leading the way, the Lady Cougars shot a team total 483.

“This was a great tournament for us to start the season,” Ada girls golf coach Ron Anderson said. “The Atoka golf course had its challenges, but it was set up to play very fair for the girls.”

All six of Ada’s team members were teeing it up for the first time in tournament play.

“Considering this begin the first ever tournament for any of the girls, I was very proud of their effort,” Anderson said. “Newakis and Alanah Canfield both scored very well for their first tournament, and, once everyone’s nerves settled after the first few holes, they all began to play much better.”

Charlesey YoungWolfe, Kyndel Carter and Mechel Dickerson scored 127, 128 and 132, respectively. Elisah Canfield recorded a 131 playing as an individual.

“The girls had a great time, and that makes it so much better for everyone including me,” Anderson said. “They are all very coachable and willing to learn so that makes my job much easier.”   

The Lady Cougars will compete in three more tournaments before the Class 5A regional tournament April 28. The other tournaments include: Tishomingo on Wednesday, Pauls Valley on Friday and Putnum City North on April 22.

Although the Atoka team field and the next two tournaments consist of smaller schools, Anderson felt this inaugural season needed gradual progress.

“There are very good golfers and teams in every class, but I didn’t want to throw this team into the deep end with our first few tournaments. These tournaments will prepare us for what’s ahead in the PC North and our 5A regional tournaments.”

Lady Cougars Compete In Tough Ada Tennis Tournament

GIRLS

Ada Tournament

Team Standings

1. Duncan    58

2. Heritage Hall    57

3. Shawnee    50

4. Carl Albert    47

5. Ada    46

(11 Teams Participated)

SINGLES

1. Hunter Conover (Carl Albert) def. Jennifer West (Ada) 6-1, 6-4 (3rd Place)

2. Morgan Murphy (Carl Albert) def. Margo Martin (Ada) 6-2, 6-2 (5th Place)

DOUBLES

1. Erica Poe-Madison Whitworth (Ada) def. T. Haddad-Ramirez (Shawnee) 6-4, 6-0 (3rd Place)

2. Andrea Gourley-Allison Keel (Ada) def. Biggs-Davis  (Bishop Kelley) 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 (5th Place)

NOTEWORTHY: Erica Poe and Madison Whitworth led the Ada contingent with a third-place showing but no Lady Cougar participant finished lower than sixth at the rugged tournament. Duncan won the teamtitle with 58 points, edging Heritage Hall which tallied 57 points.

COACHES QUOTE: “We got some good wins and missed some wins that would have been nice to have. I was very pleased with the overall performance, especially with it being the week after spring break.” — Ada head coach Skip Griese.

Up Next: Ada girls and boys at Guthrie Tournament Friday at Oklahoma City Tennis Center; Ada boys at Tournament of Champions Saturday at Heritage Hall.

Lady Cougar Golf Team Begins Season

David Seeley Guest Sports Writer Ada Evening News

Ada — ADA — Over the last several seasons, Ada High School has had one, maybe two, golfers represent the Lady Cougars. Now, there’s a full team — which may be the first ever at the school.

Senior Newakis Girdley, juniors Alanah Canfield, Charlesey YoungWolfe and Mechel Dickerson and freshmen Elisah Canfield and Kyndel Carter will traverse the fairways and greens this spring for the Lady Cougars.

“It’s my understanding that this is the first full group of girls to play golf,” Ada girls coach Ron Anderson said. “There’s been some singles who have come through, like Taylor Howard and Toni Pyrum. They were outstanding girl golfers, but this is the first time they’ve been able to get this many out for a team. Five travels as a team to golf tournaments, and we actually have six. This isn’t the first time for me because I’ve coached girls golf for over nine years. But this is clearly something new for Ada. I think they all realize that there’s a lot of people out there curious to see how they will do.”

For most of these girls, it will be their first venture in the sport.

“None of them have played competitive golf, but I think some of them have gone out and tried to play on occasions,” Anderson said. “Golf is a very difficult game. The one thing about athletes coming out to play golf is because they are so competitive that they get frustrated because they find out it’s not so easy playing golf. So far, we’ve been doing this for a few weeks, and I’m really happy with their progress. I can tell they really do want to get better. I think they are proud that they are the first girls golf team at Ada. They want to prove to everyone that they are capable of doing it. We’ve got a long way to go, but I think they have it in them with their athleticism and competitiveness to perform well — and they want to peform well.”

But because they are competitors, that is going to help them when the girls do hit the links.

“But what’s neat about these girls is that they’re competitors,” Anderson said. “Most of them play basketball, but some play softball. They’re all athletes. From my standpoint (as a coach), I would much rather have that because they’re able to perform some of the skills that are difficult when it comes to golf. What’s nice to see is that the majority of them are younger, which may be something we can build on for the future.”

As for when their season will begin, Anderson is trying to be selective as to where and when they will play.

“We’ll try to play in some tournaments this year,” he said. “But I don’t want to put them into a situation that they aren’t ready for, either. First of all, it will come down to whether or not we can even get into any tournaments at this late date. There’s just not a lot of girls golf tournaments out there. We may be required to travel a little bit to get to a golf tournament we can play in. I’ve contacted several athletic directors and coaches trying to look for one that we can compete in. It’s basically an experiment. It’s just going to take time.

“It’s kind of a one-step-at-a-time process. We’ve been on the driving range (in late Feburary and early March), and that’s been all we’ve been able to do (because to inclement weather). That’s typically the case in the spring. That’s one thing, for the girls never to have done this before, have to realize. Last year, Taylor and I went to nine tournaments, and only two had decent weather. Sometimes it will be freezing cold to where you have to wear gloves and hats. Sometimes it’s really hot. Golf is a lot more difficult than people might believe. You have to endure the weather. Sometimes, that’s what makes golf more difficult.”

Anderson believes the biggest adjustment the girls will have to make is knowing that even though they might be struggling personally, they will still be counted upon to contribute for the rest of the team’s sake.

“Having coached as much as I have, I’ve had some really good golfers,” he said. “One of my best performers was Taylor. Sometimes what those kinds of golfers don’t understand is golf is a team game. I’ve already explained that to the girls. Even if they might be frustrated with how they’re playing, they still have to be mentally tough no matter the conditions or how they’re playing because they have four other girls who are counting on them.”