Cardinal Gibbons takes Carolina Central girls golf conference behind Freedman’s medalist round
Chapel Hill’s Gina Kim and Cardinal Gibbons’ Riley Smyth were the most recognized names in Carolina Central Conference girls golf based on finishing second and third, respectively, in last year’s N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A state tournament.
But a new name took home the 2015 CCC individual title as Cardinal Gibbons sophomore Hailey Freedman shot a 77 Tuesday at Chapel Hill Country Club.
And no one was happier for Freedman than Smyth, a sophomore who finished second with a 79.
“I’m so proud of Hailey,” said Smyth, who was named conference player of the year. “She came out here and won it.”
Kim, who also is a sophomore, was missing from the field when she opted to compete in the Ping Invitational, an American Junior Golf Association event for the nation’s top 24 girls played at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla. Kim finished 11th in the 54-hole tournament (Athens Drive’s Jenifer Chang of the Southwest Wake Athletic Conference was 14th). The Ping finished Monday, but Kim was unable to make it back to Chapel Hill for Tuesday’s tee time while Chang was back to win the SWAC.
Freedman’s round included two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey for her 4-over par round on the par 73 course measuring 4,986 yards from the red tees.
“I was proud of myself that I was able to fire a pretty good number,” Freedman said. “I was putting well and driving well. My shots were consistent. Overall it was a solid day.”
A third Cardinal Gibbons sophomore made it a sweep of the top three places as Hannah Rose Bruxvoort shot 80. The Crusaders won the team title with a score of 236.
“We’re all good teammates and push each other to do our best,” Freedman said. “We applaud each other’s success. We boost each other up when we have a bad day.”
With Cardinal Gibbons running away with the team title, the battle for second was between Carrboro and Northwood. Carrboro finished as the runner-up with a 321 to Northwood’s 330. East Chapel Hill was fourth at 331.
“We’re excited to take second,” said Carrboro junior Meghan McPeak, who led her team with an 83 to finish fourth individually. “We’re a small school and don’t have a lot of girls come out for golf. We only had two when I was a freshman. I’m happy with my score and looking forward to go to the regionals.”
The CCC is a hybrid conference of schools from other conferences that lack enough schools fielding a golf team, so the regional qualifiers were spread out to the 4A, 3A and 2A tournaments: 4A- Gibbons’ Smyth, Freedman, Bruxvoort, freshman Megan Kanaby and senior Jackie Kirsch; 3A- Kim qualified based on her regular-season stroke average; Orange senior Amanda Hill; Northwood senior Logan McClamroch; 2A- Carrboro’s McPeak.
This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Cardinal Gibbons takes Carolina Central girls golf conference behind Freedman’s medalist round."