Eastwood's Shimel wins Division II title by 2 shots

10/18/2009

COLUMBUS - Alyssa Shimel of Eastwood claimed the Division II girls state golf title with a two-stroke victory Saturday over Morgan Ransom of Gahanna Columbus Academy at Ohio State's Gray Golf Course.

Shimel, a senior who was tied with Ransom coming into the final round at 73, shot an even-par 35 on the back nine to finish the day at 72. Ransom fell three strokes behind Shimel on the first two holes before rallying to take a brief lead following a par on hole No. 6. Shimel retied the match with a par on No. 9.

Birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 clinched the victory for Shimel.

Maumee Valley senior Yang "Sunny" Li finished third, firing her second straight 76 to finish at 152, three strokes better than her next-closest competitor.

Last season Li tied for third at this meet, while Shimel tied for eighth. As a freshman Shimel finished sixth in Division I. The state tournament split into two divisions in 2008.

Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin won the team title thanks to a second-day 326 that gave them a two-day score of 658, 19 shots better than Poland Seminary in second.

In the Division II boys tournament, which was played at Northstar Golf Resort in Sunbury, Bryan placed sixth with a two-day total of 651, while Genoa finished 11th at 708.

The Golden Bears were led by senior Zach Davenport, whose second-round 74 was tied for the second-best score of the day. He finished 10th with a two-day score of 153.

Teammate James Steel, a junior, tied for 16th at 161, while senior Mike Ross tied for 33rd at 167.

The Comets were led by seniors Nolan Eli and Kyle Simmons, who tied for 31st with two-day totals of 166.

Morgan Dobbins of Jackson won medalist honors with a 147, two shots better than Tyler Hohman of Columbus DeSales.

Dayton Oakwood won the D-II boys team title with a 623, seven shots better than Kettering Alter.

In Division III, the top area finisher was freshman Connor Dudley of Fremont St. Joseph, who tied for ninth with a two-day total of 163. Northwood's Louis Fahrbach, a senior, tied for 18th with a 169.

Alex Andrews of Gates Mills Gilmour Academy took medalist honors with a 146, seven shots better than Oliver Holtsberry of Lima Central Catholic. And Minster won the D-III team title by shooting a 654, 17 strokes ahead of Strasburg-Franklin.

BEDFORD 10TH: The Bedford girls finished 10th in the Division 1 state golf tournament at Forest Akers West in East Lansing, Mich.

The Mules shot a 380 yesterday to finish with a two-day score of 757. Rochester won the team title with a 685, 24 shots better than second-place Saline.

Individually Bedford was led by Becca Porter, who shot 89 for the second day to finish at 178.

Rochester's Christine Meier took medalist honors with a 147.