Girls Golf

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

JESSICA CATHEY

Junior Jessica Cathey had been shoehorned into the role of No. 2 golfer on the Soddy-Daisy girls' team. Then she won the City Prep Championship and established herself as a No. 1 golfer as well. "I made a name for myself that day, and it took over for the rest of the season," Cathey said. "City Prep was the funnest tournament I played in all year." Cathey's improvement gave the Lady Trojans a terrific duo with her and teammate Haley Cothran. They won the 2009 state championship and had targets on their back on the way to winning again. Cathey's win at the City Prep early this season made the target even bigger. Before reaching the state tournament, Cathey won the Region 3-AAA championship on her birthday, which allowed the Lady Trojans to defend their state championship. She opened the Class AAA state tournament with a 74 and closed with a 79, helping the team shoot 304 and win it again. "It was a little stressful there in the end," said Cathey, who is drawing interest from Indiana, Illiniois, Middle Tennessee State and Austin Peay. "I had a great season with all of my tournaments except one."

COACH OF THE YEAR

GARY PARTRICK

Baylor School coach Gary Partrick began the season with no expectations of his own. But others expected the Lady Red Raiders to continue their tradition of state championships, already at 15 in a row. Partrick didn't know if the girls could do it. Sure, they had some talent, but none of those on this year's team had significant experience playing at a high level on a golf team. "We were really inexperienced, talented, but inexperienced, especially in team play," Partrick said. "They'd had some success in individual tournaments over the summer, but I didn't know how that would translate." He didn't make a single birdie, but he directed the Lady Raiders to a 16th straight state championship, which ties the national record set by Xavier Prep in Phoenix. "We tried not to mention the streak to the kids very much, but the closer it got, it became the elephant in the room," Partrick said. "But I think they really handled it when the time came."

FIRST TEAM

Elena Baker

BAYLOR

Sophomore

She finished fifth in the Division II-AA state tournament and third at the City Prep Championship.

Haley Cothran

SODDY-DAISY

Senior

The MTSU signee finished fifth in the AAA state tournament and won the District 5 championship.

Haley Davidson

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN

Sophomore

She tied for fifth in the A/AA state tournament to help the Lady Eagles win the championship.

Avery George

WALKER VALLEY

Junior

She finished 11th in the AAA state tournament and sixth in the City Prep Championship.

Emily Javadi

BAYLOR

Junior

She won the East/Middle Region with a 71 and tied for third at the Division II-AA state tournament.

SECOND TEAM

SARAH DOLMOVICH Signal Mountain Junior

MADDIE EVERTS Notre Dame Senior

ALYSSA BROWN Baylor Senior

BECCA KIMBERLIN McMinn Central Senior

BLAKESLY WARREN Baylor Freshman

TEAMS OF THE YEAR

1 BAYLOR

Shooting a 310 over two days at Willowbrook Golf Club, the Lady Raiders tied a national record with their 16th consecutive state championship. They also won the City Prep and East/Middle Region championships.

2 SODDY-DAISY

The Lady Trojans repeated as Class AAA state champions with the same starting lineup as last season. They shot 334 during their two days in Manchester after winning the District 5 and Region 3 titles.

3 SIGNAL MOUNTAIN

The Lady Eagles won their second Class A/AA state championship in the program's second season. Their 331 at Willowbrook won by 12 shots. They also won District 7 and Region 4 championships.

Photos by John Rawlston and Laura-Chase McGehee. Text by David Uchiyama. Design by Stacey Wysong.

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