TSSAA Division II golf state tournament
At WillowBrookToday’s Tee Times(All times Eastern)Legend: Baylor (B); Boyd-Buchanan (BB); McCallie (M)Class AA local boys, No. 10: 10 a.m.—Jack Billups (M), Jacob Allstun (M); 10:10—Sheldon McKnight (B), Griffin McCloy (M); 10:20—Joe Carter (M).Class AA local girls, No. 10: 9 a.m.—Kyndall Shamblin (B); 9:10—Kelsey Hodge (B); 9:20—Stephanie Xian (B); 9:30—Hannah Prescott (GPS); 9:40—McKenzie Frizzell (GPS); 9:50—Gracie Spence (GPS).Class A local boys, No. 1: 10:10 a.m.—Casey Tull (Collegedale Academy).Class A local girls, No. 1: 9:30 a.m.—Lydia Campbell (BB); 9:40—Zacori Hill (BB); 9:50—Mackenzie Savage (BB).
The four Chattanooga-area teams competing in TSSAA Division II golf state tournaments this week will have three challenges to negotiate - the course, opposing teams and Mother Nature.
Six boys' teams and six girls' teams will battle it out for the titles in each classification. Baylor's girls, GPS and McCallie qualified to play in the Class AA tournament. Boyd-Buchanan's girls qualified for the Class A tournament.
Play is scheduled today and Tuesday at WillowBrook in Manchester, where there is a chance of rain both days. But whether the golfers confront much rain during their rounds, they'll already have to deal with what fell all day Sunday.
"The TSSAA will not have a lift-clean-and-place event," Baylor coach Gary Partrick said. "That will not be an option. I don't know what our chances are of playing Monday or whether they might shorten it to a one-day event, but either way we're looking at rain and mud. We could have wind, too.
"With the chances of wind, rain and mud, that kind of makes for an interesting state tournament. Hopefully it won't be as bad as they're calling for."
Baylor's girls have been sparked this year by eighth-grader Kyndall Shamblin. Kelsey Hodge has provided the strongest support, and another freshman, Stephanie Xian, is Partrick's other choice to play today.
"The girls' team since the City Prep have stepped up," Partrick said. "They were able to win the region. They really had a great month. I'm excited."
Coach Rob Riddle's GPS team is paced by seniors Hannah Prescott and McKenzie Frizzell. Riddle also coaches McCallie, which leaves him with the decision of which five to play of what he admits are six strong players.
"Most of them play a pretty good summer schedule," Riddle said. "I'm sure they played in the rain some."
Riddle also noted that some golfers in a PGA Tour event in which weather is a factor could benefit depending on whether they have a morning or afternoon tee time, but that won't be the case with everyone competing in each class scheduled to tee off within an hour and a half of each other.
"It's going to come down to who is consistent and who has the ability to weather the storm," Riddle said.
Boyd-Buchanan's girls are led by juniors Lydia Campbell and Zacori Hill. Campbell will be competing in her fourth state tournament at WillowBrook and Hill will be playing in her third. Campbell qualified as an eighth-grader.
Hill has been bothered by a wrist injury that led to her withdrawing from the District 2 tournament after playing 11 holes, but she came back and played a complete round Sept. 26 in the East Region tournament. Boyd-Buchanan coach Ed Connelly said Hill received a cortisone shot in her hand recently and told him the aggravated area feels much better.
"They both said they're ready to go," Connelly said. "I know they can play in the rain. They both hit it high with not a lot of roll. It's not going to roll much Monday and Tuesday. They know the course. You've got to play the ball in the middle. You can't have any shots going left or right. I like our chances."
The Chattanooga area also had two boys qualify to play as individuals: Baylor eighth-grader Sheldon McKnight in Class AA and Collegedale Academy senior Casey Tull in Class A.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.