Britt, Eagles win state

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Signal Mountain sophomore Sarah Dolmovich buried herself in the arms of Jordan Britt and just bawled.

"We just won the state tournament," Dolmovich said a moment later. "I do not cry often at all. This is a very good reason.

"At 15-years-old, as a sophomore, this is a very big deal."

Britt hugged everybody she knew around the 18th green at Old Fort Golf Course and couldn't have been paid enough money to stop smiling and enjoying the emotion. She capped her high school golfing career with an individual and team title at the Class A/AA state championships.

"I feel sick to my stomach and there's still butterflies," said Britt, who won medalist honors with an even-par 144, including a 1-under-par 71 on Wednesday. "I'm surprised I'm not crying. I'll get there eventually."

The Eagles shot 314 over two days in conditions more like the British Open than October in Tennessee. The Eagles beat second-place Greenville by 15 strokes, and Britt won by nine shots over Lindy McGuire of Alcoa.

"It's a memorable team and a memorable group of girls," said coach Wes Moore, point guard on the 1997 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Sweet 16 basketball team. "I was more nervous watching them play then I ever was while I was playing."

Freshman Haley Davidson had the Eagles second counting score, an 84 on Wednesday and a 170 for two days. Dolmovich shot 178 and had the drop score each day.

"Jordan always comes up to me and gives me a big hug no matter whether I have a good round or a bad one," Davidson said. "My round was up and down. But I knew that I could rely on Jordan."

The championships have been elusive to Britt who transferred to Signal Mountain after three years at GPS. She finished third last year and could never stop Baylor's team-title streak. She spun and gave a hearty fist pump on No. 18 after a 20-foot par-putt dropped in the cup.

"I wanted to go out and play like I can and I did that," Britt said. "This is one great way to go out."

Notre Dame's tournament didn't go as coach Jeff Fisher had hoped. The boys team finished third, 29 shots behind champion Christian Academy of Knoxville. Senior Kyle Wittler was 11th at 9 over par and sophomore teammate David Weeks was 12th at 154. DeKalb County senior Payne Denman won his second straight individual championship by shooting a 4-under 140.

"We could have played better than that," Notre Dame coach Jeff Fisher said. "It's not what we hoped for.

"But we had a good season, a good district and a good region."

Notre Dame junior Maddi Everts tied for sixth place at 160. The Polk County girls team finished seventh and McMinn Central boys finished eighth. The Chargers shot 729 and the Lady Wildcats shot 406 in their first golf state championship appearance.

Signal Mountain's title is the first in any sport for the second-year school.

"They're the leaders now at school and everybody else has to follow suit," athletics director Patty Lane joked. "The minute I got coach's text, I got on the intercom and let everybody know."