Cardinal girls secure win in season opener

"Shaking off the rust" is a common saying throughout all of sports, and it's undoubtedbly something all athletes must deal with from time to time.

Well, on Thursday afternoon the Newton girls' golf team shook off their rust to the tune of a 203-231 victory over Pella.

The medalist for Newton was perhaps surprisngly a freshman. Jessica Reynolds shot a 46 in her first varisty meet to come home with the low score for the Cards.

"I'm really proud of Jessica. It was a nice, consistent round. She had very consistent drives, and when she missed greens it wasn't by very much," coach Scott Enyart said. "She was very good at chipping around the green to get the ball in close. This was a big accomplishment for her so early on in the year"

Reynolds' scorecard was highlighted by three pars. She parred the two par-3s — holes three and six — as well as the par--5 — hole eight.

Second on the team for Newton was junior Medline Wellick, with a 50 to kick off her season. She also parred hole number six. Next on the team scorecard was fellow junior Carrie Cunningham. She shot a 51. Also counting for the Carindals was junior Madigan Hiillyard with a 56. Shelby Cochran and Bailey Kellog both shot non-counting 59s.

"I thought Madeline started out shaky, but she recovered very well in her last four holes. Carrie started strongly with pars on two and six," Enyart said. "That was nice to see also."

Now that the team is able to practice regulary, Enyart expects that the girls will show much more consistency with their games.

"The biggest this was as the meet went on, we began to find our rhythm. It was nice to have the warm weather, and it was also nice to see them smile while they were playing for the first time in a while," Enyart joked. "The warm weather was welcomed by all. They really enjoyed the round. It was improtant because that will help build consistency as well."

On the junior varsity side of things, Newton defeated Pella 257-266. The low scorers on JV for the Cardinals were Abby Jolivette with a 63 to go along with Sydney Hermann and Olivia Maharry, who both shot 64s.

"We had eight freshmen girls getting their first tournament action. That win will really help to build confidence," Enyart said. "The returning girls had solid rounds as well. They're just learning the game, and it's important to get the first tournament out of the way. I'm proud of the turnout the program had this year with all these freshmen excited to play golf."

Grinnell also attended the meet, but their scores will not count towards the Little Hawkeye Conference play. They shot a collective 193.

Newton's next meet will be on Tuesday when they welcome Pella Christian and Knoxville to Westwood Golf Course.