When one golfer turns in a career-best score, it’s a pretty good day. When four golfers turn in a career-best score, you get the result the Lady Tigers got on Monday. Republic rebounded from a difficult week last week with a team score of 364, good for third place at the Pearson Invitational in Springfield.
Oddly, Republic also finished third at the tournament in 2012, 2013, and 2016. Their highest finish came in 2015, when they finished second.
Rylea Smith paced the Lady Tigers with an 85. That was her best score ever, and earned her ninth place in the individual standings. Ashley White wasn’t far behind, shooting a career-low 88. Freshman Clara Fronabarger shot a 95, also a career-best. Madisyn Klossing shot a 95–just two strokes off her best score last year at Willard. And golf newcomer Grace Lightfoot ended with a 101, the best score of her young career, as well.
“I couldn’t be more happy for them,” says coach Curt Plotner. “I knew that each of them had the capability to play that well, and it all came together today. Hopefully this is something that we can build off of and keep building momentum for postseason play.”