VERONA - Darlington sophomore Naomi Black took a slight step back in the second day of the WIAA Division 2 state golf tournament at Univers-ity Ridge, shooting a 35-over-par and finishing 34th.
"I would have liked to play a little better," Black said. "It was a good experience. There were some amazing golfers."
Black had played her practice round with Emily Joers of Waukesha, who finished second in Division 1 (1-under-par).
"It was amazing playing with her. She was phenomenal. Everything she hit went right where she wanted," Black said. "It was enjoyable to watch."
Black opened her second round on the back nine. Through the first eight holes, she sat at 9-over on the day. On the par-4 18th, Black fell apart, driving her tee shot into the woods.
"She ended up getting a terrible lie," Darlington-Cuba City head coach Gary Ringen said. "It would have been better to have lost the ball and taken a drop. She ended up 9-over on that hole with an 11."
"It was a bad hole," Black said. "I tried to tell myself it was just one hole and to get over it."
Black also said that the amount of holes needed to play - 18 in competition for two-straight days - wore on her stamina.
"That was the hardest part, playing all those holes in a short period of time. I was getting tired there at the end."
Though Black's two-day total was 65 shots back of Osceola's Casey Danielson, the Division 2 individual champion, Ringen said he was pleased with the way his young sophomore played.
"She was not quite as sharp as she would have liked to have been, but I'm quite proud of her. She hung in there," Ringen said. "She had a great experience on a great course. It was beautiful weather, too. I think she learned a lot."
Black didn't envision making it to state alone. Her older sister, Nellie, a senior, spent much of the early season setting program records.
"The way she was playing, I thought she would make it," Naomi said of Nellie. "It would have meant so much to have Nellie there too."
Nellie, the team leader in scoring all season, qualified for sectionals, but it was Naomi that earned the berth to state. Now, Naomi will do her best to improve her level of play and return to the top high school tournament in Wisconsin.
"I'm going to work really hard to get back," said Black, who also admitted that she was ready to get back to class after missing a couple of days of school. "School will be good. It will be nice to get back into the normal routine of things."
The Prairie School broke Madison Edgewood's nine-year reign atop as state champions, winning by one-stroke and finishing a combined 92-over-par. Waunakee won the Division 1 team title, edging Milton. Ashton Stair, Milton's star, won the Division 1 individual title, shooting a 4-under-par.
Darlington didn't take the team to state this year, but Ringen said his squad had a very successful campaign.
"We went 27-10 as a team (in dual matches), qualified two for sectionals, one for state. We are on a pretty good roll. We had 13 girls this year and four are seniors, so that means we have nine coming back with however many freshmen come out," Ringen said. "We're looking forward to next year already."
"I would have liked to play a little better," Black said. "It was a good experience. There were some amazing golfers."
Black had played her practice round with Emily Joers of Waukesha, who finished second in Division 1 (1-under-par).
"It was amazing playing with her. She was phenomenal. Everything she hit went right where she wanted," Black said. "It was enjoyable to watch."
Black opened her second round on the back nine. Through the first eight holes, she sat at 9-over on the day. On the par-4 18th, Black fell apart, driving her tee shot into the woods.
"She ended up getting a terrible lie," Darlington-Cuba City head coach Gary Ringen said. "It would have been better to have lost the ball and taken a drop. She ended up 9-over on that hole with an 11."
"It was a bad hole," Black said. "I tried to tell myself it was just one hole and to get over it."
Black also said that the amount of holes needed to play - 18 in competition for two-straight days - wore on her stamina.
"That was the hardest part, playing all those holes in a short period of time. I was getting tired there at the end."
Though Black's two-day total was 65 shots back of Osceola's Casey Danielson, the Division 2 individual champion, Ringen said he was pleased with the way his young sophomore played.
"She was not quite as sharp as she would have liked to have been, but I'm quite proud of her. She hung in there," Ringen said. "She had a great experience on a great course. It was beautiful weather, too. I think she learned a lot."
Black didn't envision making it to state alone. Her older sister, Nellie, a senior, spent much of the early season setting program records.
"The way she was playing, I thought she would make it," Naomi said of Nellie. "It would have meant so much to have Nellie there too."
Nellie, the team leader in scoring all season, qualified for sectionals, but it was Naomi that earned the berth to state. Now, Naomi will do her best to improve her level of play and return to the top high school tournament in Wisconsin.
"I'm going to work really hard to get back," said Black, who also admitted that she was ready to get back to class after missing a couple of days of school. "School will be good. It will be nice to get back into the normal routine of things."
The Prairie School broke Madison Edgewood's nine-year reign atop as state champions, winning by one-stroke and finishing a combined 92-over-par. Waunakee won the Division 1 team title, edging Milton. Ashton Stair, Milton's star, won the Division 1 individual title, shooting a 4-under-par.
Darlington didn't take the team to state this year, but Ringen said his squad had a very successful campaign.
"We went 27-10 as a team (in dual matches), qualified two for sectionals, one for state. We are on a pretty good roll. We had 13 girls this year and four are seniors, so that means we have nine coming back with however many freshmen come out," Ringen said. "We're looking forward to next year already."
