Girls golf: A look at the season ahead across the Herald-News area

The girls golf season is underway. Here are previews of teams from the Herald-News coverage area.

Southwest Prairie Conference

Joliet Township

Coach: Jim Grzetich (10th year)

Last season’s record: 8-1

Top returners: Jersy Hauert (Jr.), Emily Smith (Sr.), Sophia Podmolik (So.), Nina Mayfield (Jr.), Grayce Featherston (Jr.), Sami Ankeney (Jr.)

Key newcomers: Liliana Gomez (Fr.), Leah Blunk (Fr.)

Worth noting: Joliet Township finished second in the SPC last season and advanced three golfers to the sectional and one [McKenna Anderson] to the state meet. ... Smith was named All-SPC last season, while Mayfield and Hauert are three-year varsity players. ... Coach Grzetich: “We are a young team with only one senior on our varsity roster. The girls worked extremely hard this offseason with camps, lessons, tournaments and practice to vastly improve individually. Our goal is to compete for an SPC title [we won in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and took second last year].”

Minooka

Coach: Nick Barello

Last season’s record: 10-0

Top returners: Lauren McPhillips-Newcomb (Sr.), Leona Trevino (Jr.), Kalyn Bebej (Sr.), Taylor Rodriguez (Jr.). return as SPC all-conference golfers from last season. Kalyn Bebej (Sr.) and Taylor Rodriguez (Jr.)

Worth noting: McPhillips-Newcomb and Trevino are returning SPC All-Conference golfers from last season, while Bebej and Rodriguez are looking to contribute in larger roles this season. ... The Indians won the SPC Conference Tournament and the Class 2A Joliet Regional championships. ... Coach Barello: “We graduated a few major contributors from our highly successful 2022 campaign, but still expect to compete for SPC and regional championships. Lauren and Leona are playing as well as they have ever played and are hoping to advance to the individual state finals.”

Plainfield Central

Coach: Josh Bloodgood (3rd season)

Top returners: Piper Calotone (Sr.), Natalie Adelmann (Jr.), Yami Gonzalez (Jr.), Alexis Listermann (Jr), Mallory Ukeja (Jr.), Caray Curtis (So.)

Key newcomers: Riley Freischlag (So.)

Worth noting: The Wildcats started four sophomores in the regional last season, and all four posted their best scores of the year. ... They also will have assistant coach Brandon Sanders on staff this year. ... Coach Bloodgood: “We have been building a culture over these past three years that contributes to the girls being proud to be a Wildcat, a female athlete and a more competitive golfer. This team has phenomenal energy. We are looking for consistency and playing the shots we can with confidence. One of our keys to success will be to recognize our growth and continue to celebrate the successes.”

Plainfield South

Coach: Caroline Butler (9th year)

Last season’s record: 2-7

Top returners: Katie Nichols (Sr.), Hayden Justis (So.), Darcey O’Sullivan (So.)

Key newcomers: Regina Glover (Jr.)

Worth noting: Nichols was an All-SPC performer last year, but she currently is out with an injury, and Butler hopes for her return in September. ... This is Glover’s first year of high school golf. ... Coach Butler: “We are looking forward to making some progress this season. Although our No. 1 is currently out on injury, we have returning players who are working hard to make a dent in the conference this year. We hope to win more matches in our regular conference season by getting off the tee stronger and practicing more on the putting green.”

Romeoville

Coach: Matt Joerger (4th year)

Last year’s record: 0-9

Top returners: Lia Groner (Sr.), Anna Klimek (So.), Tacha Rangel (Sr.)

Key newcomers: Dani Rayos Del Sol (So.), Whittney Sanchez (So.), Analiz Torres (So.)

Worth noting: The Spartans currently have 13 girls on the roster and hope to add more and have a full varsity and JV team. ... Coach Joerger: “We are a very young team with 10 freshmen and sophomores, so we are looking forward to getting experience on the course and to be in a position to be competitive the next couple of years.”

SouthWest Suburban Conference

Lincoln-Way Central

Coach: Bob Curran (2nd season)

Top returners: Sarah Arsich (Sr.), Sophia Thorne (Sr.)

Key newcomers: Taylor Bush (Fr.), Kristin Kroll (So.)

Worth noting: The Knights finished second in the SouthWest Suburban Red and in their regional last season. ... Arsich and Thorne both were all-conference. ... Coach Curran: “We should compete for conference, regionals, sectionals and possibly qualify for state as a team. The girls and I are really looking forward to the 2023 season.”

Lincoln-Way West

Coach: Tim Daly (15th year at Lincoln-Way West, 23rd overall)

Last season’s record: 8-1

Top returners: Kaylee Dwyer (Sr.), Peyton White (Jr.)

Key newcomers: Sydney Pohlmann (So.), Reilly Carlson (Fr.)

Worth noting: The Warriors finished as conference champions last season. ... Dwyer was named All-State last year after finishing sixth at the state meet. She also won a sectional championship.

South Suburban Conference

Lemont

Coach: Bill Mondrella (22nd season)

Last season’s record: 7-7

Top returners: Leila Rexhepi (Sr.) and Anisha Oberai (So.)

Worth noting: Lemont won the South Suburban title last season and placed third in their regional to advance to sectionals. ... Coach Mondrella: “Our goals are always to win conference and advance to sectionals as a team, and I hope to do that with this group.”

Illinois Central Eight Conference

Coal City

Coach: Harlan Kennell (2nd season)

Last season’s record: 3-4

Top returners: Kylee Kennell (Jr.), Dakota Clubb (Jr.)

Key newcomers: Kiley McKim (Sr.), Tanna Curie (Sr.), Maddie Peterson (Jr.)

Worth noting: This is only the second year of girls golf at Coal City. ... The Coalers won the ICE Conference Tournament last season. ... Kylee Kennell qualified for sectionals last season. ... Coach Kennell: “We have 12 girls this year, so a lot of new faces. Several players are new to golf but are showing great improvements. We want to be more competitive as a team and finish with a winning record. Our other goal is to advance to the sectional as a team.”

Wilmington

Coach: Mike Wilson (20th season)

Top returners: Channing Sexton (Sr.), Emily Geiss (Sr.), Claire Lenart (Sr.)

Worth noting: The Wildcats were not able to advance a golfer to sectionals last season. ... Coach Wilson: “My expectations for this year is to peak around regionals, and hopefully we can send a player to sectionals. The girls have been working on their game and are showing improvement heading into the season.”

Interstate 8 Conference

Morris

Coach: Mike Muntz (5th season)

Top returner: Ella McDonnell (Sr.)

Worth noting: McDonnell qualified for the sectional last season and will golf on the boys team during the season before switching to the girls team halfway through, competing in the girls state series. ... Coach Muntz: “We are hoping for Ella that experience throughout the varsity boys season will translate to advancement to state on the girls’ side this year.”

Tri-County Conference

Seneca

Coach: Bryan Erickson (12th season)

Last’s season record: 12-7

Top returners: Addison Stiegler (Sr.), Julia Hogan (Sr.), Shelby Welsh (Jr.), Jolena Odum (Sr.)

Key newcomers: Piper Stenzel (Fr.), Camryn Stecken (So.)

Worth noting: The Lady Irish have qualified for sectonals the past two seasons. ... Coach Erickson: “With the top four returners coming into the season much improved from a year ago and the addition of Stenzel and Stecken, the sky is the limit for this team. Piper Stenzel comes in as a freshman with a lot of competitive golf experience and a lot of talent. She will step into the role of No. 1 golfer for us. I have never had a girls team with this much depth and ability.”