Kyle Parmley
Emily Baker
Hoover’s Emily Baker putts during the Class 7A, Section 3 girls golf tournament at Highland Park Golf Course.
The Hoover High School girls golf team peaked in the postseason after a season of growth.
Featuring a young squad, the Lady Bucs got a little bit better with each passing tournament. Coach Lori Elgin would have rather won multiple tournaments throughout the regular season, but she knew she needed to take a slow and steady approach with the 2019 team.
The patience paid off and Hoover won its first event at the Class 7A, Section 3 tournament on April 30, propelling the Lady Bucs to the North Sub-State tournament the following week. At sub-state, Hoover tied with Huntsville for the top spot.
“Those two were the only tournaments we won all season long,” Elgin said. “We did what we intended to do.”
The state tournament didn’t go as well as the previous postseason tournaments — as the Lady Bucs earned a fourth-place finish — but in the grand scheme, it was easy to take away positives from the team’s strong run at the end of the season.
“Overall, us getting there was a pretty big accomplishment. When we got there, we had high hopes, but it is what it is,” Elgin said.
At the section tournament, played at Highland Park, Hoover posted a score of 234 to Spain Park’s 237. Hoover’s Emily Baker earned low-medalist honors with a 72, with teammates Neysa Dechachutinan’s 79 and Julia Freeman’s 83 also counting toward the team score. Hailey Remick shot 94, while Lucy Mileski (93) and Gabriela Anderson (105) competed as individuals.
For Spain Park, Marilyn Steed led the way with a 74, followed by Taylor Trible’s 77. Caroline McCabe carded an 86 and Haley Lockhart shot 92.
The sub-state tournament was held at Robert Trent Jones’ Hampton Cove the following week. Hoover tied with Huntsville with a team score of 249, as both teams moved on to the state tournament. Spain Park finished third with a score of 253, but Steed’s round of 79 was good enough to earn her a berth to the state tournament as an individual.
For Hoover, Dechachutinan led the way with a round of 76. Baker shot an 83, while Freeman finished with a 90 and Remick shot 97. For Spain Park, McCabe, a senior, concluded her career with a round of 83. Lockhart shot a 91 and Trible finished with a 97.
“I’m going to really miss her,” Spain Park coach Kelly Holland said of McCabe. “She was very valuable. She provided a lot of solid, consistent leadership for our team.”
The state tournament was played May 13-14 at RTJ Capitol Hill in Prattville. Dechachutinan was the Lady Bucs’ top scorer, as she fired rounds of 82 and 81 to finish with a 163 total, good for eighth overall. Baker tallied a 180, Freeman finished at 184 and Remick shot 197.
“I was proud of them for getting as far as they got,” Elgin said.
Baker was the team’s lone senior, leading the Lady Bucs after following in the footsteps of the likes of sister Julie Baker (Southern Miss), Mychael O’Berry (Auburn), Carson McKie (Lee) and Danielle Buompastore(Wallace State), who are all still playing in college.
Spain Park’s Steed made it to state as an individual and placed sixth overall with a 156 (77-79).
“We were disappointed that our team didn’t get there, because we felt like we missed an opportunity,” Holland said. “We were good enough to get there but we didn’t play well enough at the right time. Marilyn deserved to be there.”
A few days following the state tournament, Steed pledged to UAB, where she will play collegiately after one more year at Spain Park. There Steed will join Caroline Waldrop, a Spain Park alumna who recently announced her transfer to UAB from Western Kentucky. Mary Kate Horton (Samford) and Jordan Susce (Troy) are also former Lady Jags still playing in the college ranks.
“From the beginning of the recruiting process, I have had a great rapport with the coaching staff and love their passion for growing the program,” Steed said.
UAB head coach Ryan Ashburn and assistant coach Olivia Jordan-Higgins watched Steed play at the state tournament, and Steed said their belief in her was a “game changer.”
“The energy that the team and coaches have created is positive, competitive and everyone is determined,” Steed said. “I believe that as a team, we will be able to take this program to the next level. I am looking forward to playing for UAB and improving my golf game day in and day out.”
Stuart advances to state
On the boys side, Spain Park’s Matt Stuart achieved a state tournament berth. Spain Park’s team finished third at the 7A, Section 3 tournament on April 29 at the Country Club of Birmingham, behind eventual state champion Mountain Brook and third-place Vestavia Hills.
But Stuart led the way for the Jags, as he tied for the low round of the day with a 71. Also scoring for the Jags at section were Hayden Carner (75), Slade McCraw (81) and Cooper Blevins (82).
Stuart shot a 74 at the sub-state tournament the following week to qualify for state. At the state tournament, he fired rounds of 83 and 82 to finish at 165.
