Saints notch one-sided victory over rivals

Jenny Niemiec was poised to polish off her round at Royal Hawk Country Club in grand style Wednesday afternoon.

The St. Charles East sophomore played a five-hole stretch in 2-under-par in the Saints' Upstate Eight Conference dual meet with St. Charles North, and Niemiec had a four footer to complete her level-par afternoon.

The putt slid past the hole, but it was still a masterful 1-over-par 38 that propelled the Saints to a one-sided 170-202 victory over their cross-town rivals.

"I was trying not to think about my score, but it was kind of hard," said Niemiec.

After a par-bogey-par start, Niemiec was in trouble on the par-5 fifth as her second shot was perilously close to a hazard, not too mention a huge tree blocking her entrance to the green.

"I played (my third shot) in front of my stance and played it to go over (the tree), which it did," said Niemiec.

Confronting a 30-footer for a birdie, Niemiec drained the putt to get back to level par on the day.

"It was pure luck," she said.

Niemiec added two more pars and then played a deft pitch on the last of the three par-5s to record her second birdie of the round, which was slightly sidetracked by back-to-back bogeys coming home.

"(Niemiec) is very capable of shooting even par," said St. Charles East coach Rod Osborne. "She is so talented athletically."

With her anchor score, the Saints received an additional boost from freshman Nicole Rae, who used a birdie on the middle par 5 -- the fifth -- as part of a 3-over 40.

When the Saints' Rachael Edwards and Gina Greco added matching 36s, the girls golf team at St. Charles East had recorded its first victory over the North Stars in four years.

"At the beginning (of the season), it was intimidating playing with the older girls," said Rae. "I think I did (well today), but my putting could have been better."

The North Stars were paced, as usual, by their two-time state qualifier Brooke Bettis, who used a brilliant tee shot and subsequent deuce on the par-3 eighth to highlight her round of 42.

The senior had an otherwise frustrating day, finding a divot in the fairway on one seemingly perfect drive and having another tee shot clip a tree.

"It's not about bad breaks; I just didn't have it today," said Bettis. "This is the worst score I've shot all year for a dual match."

Molly Fremgen (52), Miranda Fencl (54) and Marin Beagley (54) rounded out the North Stars' scoring.