by Devan Matthews

Correspondent

Like the Nordonia High School boys golf team, the girls squad has a wealth of experience returning in 2010. In fact, the girls might have more than the boys.

That's because the entire varsity roster this year consists of seniors. Those seniors are Gina Battistone, Ashley Costello, Ashley Olivier, Meghan O'Neill, Lauren Walsh and Mya Williams.

Last year, Nordonia captured the River Division championship in the Northeast Ohio Conference. The Knights finished with an overall record of 13-4, as well as a mark of 6-3 in the River Division.

Nordonia entered the NOC Tournament in second place in the division standings. Cuyahoga Falls was in first place, but the Black Tigers ended up third at the tournament.

The Knights, on the other hand, finished first, which propelled them to the division title.

Unfortunately, that's where their good luck ended, as they placed fifth at the Division I sectional tournament at Gleneagles Golf Club the following week, ending their season.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have a good day at Gleneagles," said Nordonia head coach Scott Lawrence. "There was bad weather that day, but everybody has to play in that. That course has just given us fits."

According to Lawrence, he and his players are optimistic about what the 2010 campaign might bring.

"We're fortunate that we have a lot of experience coming back," he said. "Everybody on the varsity roster is a returning letterwinner. That's a good thing for the team. The girls are excited about the potential that lies ahead. We're really excited about the season."

Nordonia will more than likely be part of a three-team race for this year's River Division crown. The other teams are Cuyahoga Falls and Stow-Munroe Falls, much like it was last season.

The River Division is a five-team division. Rounding out its membership are Mayfield and Twinsburg.

"I think it's going to be a three-team race," said Lawrence. "That's what it came down to last year, those three teams and whether or not they could beat one another."

Experience is obviously a strength of Nordonia's this season. Lawrence indicated, though, that the players need to achieve greater levels of consistency in order for the team to reach its goals.

"The question is whether everybody can put it all together on the same day," said Lawrence. "Right now, our major concern is consistency. Some of the girls have a good day, and then the next day they don't play nearly as well. It's the same thing on the golf course. We need good course management, and we need to consistently hit good shots.

"I firmly believe the short game in girls golf is where it's at. We still have a lot of work to do. We want to makes sure that we're not three-putting. I think that we're going to be a very good team by the end of the season."

According to Lawrence, the level of competition in the sport of girls golf in Northeast Ohio has risen noticeably over the course of the past few years.

"The scores in the area overall are starting to improve," he said. "The competition is getting better. We've been putting up some decent numbers compared to last year, good quality scores, but they haven't translated into where we want to be. We need to realize that we have to step up our game."

Lawrence is entering his fifth season as the head coach at Nordonia. He has a new assistant coach this year, Kenny Vehar.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113