Brad Baughman and Ben VanNess have their work cut out for them.
Last year, the Brown County High School girls golf program had the bare minimum allowed for play: five athletes.
This year, they have 13 — which is not only the most in the program’s history, but five of them are completely brand new to the game.
“That number bodes well for the future of the program, and it leads us to believe that we must be doing some things right,” Baughman said.
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“A roster of 13 does present some challenges, however. (Assistant coach) Ben and I will be busy trying to see that each girl gets individual attention, and trying to work inexperienced golfers into competitive varsity golf matches may be problematic.
“All in all, a few more is better than not enough.”
A high turnout couldn’t come at a better time considering the departure of former standout Ashley Masteller. Last year she helped lead the program to a 12-1 dual and three-way match record, a third-place Western Indiana Conference finish, and a program first-ever berth in the IHSAA regional.
Now, as Masteller has moved on to IU East in Richmond, the remaining core members from last year’s team must step up.
“For two seasons, we relied heavily on Ashley, and many of our players saw their roles as simply supportive. I believe our three seniors and Ainslie (Winton) need to step up this season, and in time, I am confident they will,” Baughman said.
Returning this year are seniors Allison Stogsdill, Taylor Poling, and Aubrey Hollander, as well as sophomores Ainslie Winton and Abby Padgett.
In their season opener against Indian Creek, Stogsdill started off in the No. 1 spot for the Eagles and shot a 52.
“Tonight’s match didn’t go terrible, so I have a little bit of confidence and I know we’re looking for someone to replace Ashley. We’re missing her a lot because she was a really strong asset,” Stogsdill said.
“I think that’s what we’re going to be working towards this year: for someone to step up and replace Ashley.”
At No. 1, Stogsdill is in the running, but sophomore Ainslie Winton is a strong contender at No. 2 with room to grow. Winton, who has played since she was 7, shot a 57. She already has five years of competitive experience.
“I’ve been playing all summer, so I wasn’t really happy with how I played, but I think for the first competitive match of the season I did pretty good,” she said.
“I hit a few bad shots and I know what I did wrong, so I just need to go back and practice.”
Just behind Winton was senior Taylor Poling, who shot a 58. Senior Aubrey Hollander followed with a 60 and sophomore Abby Padgett rounded out the top five for Brown County with a 64.
Overall, Indian Creek took the match 200 to 227. While that’s disappointing, Baughman believes his team is capable of much more as the players grow into the season.
“It often takes about a month for us to hit our stride; unfortunately, the girls golf season, from the first practice to the sectional date, is less than two months,” he said.
“I believe that by the end of this month or shortly after Labor Day, we will have a good idea of just what we are capable of accomplishing. Our team score for the first match was disappointing. We are capable of much better, and we will get there.”
