Lady Tigers improve in second straight trip to state tournament

Hahnville finished the 2017 girls golf season as Division I’s No. 7 ranked team after wrapping up its season at the Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA state championship tournament in Youngsville last week. The Lady Tigers shot a two day team score — consisting of each team’s top three scoring players — of 197 at the Les Vieux Chenes golf course. Sulphur captured the Division I championship with a score of 151. St. Joseph’s and Byrd rounded out the state’s top three.

Shelby Walls finished as the Tigers’ top individual finisher at 18th overall, shooting 195 over her two days in action (98-97). Hahnville’s Madeleine Dufrene shot 196 (99-97) to finish a spot behind her teammate at 19th overall. Fellow Tiger Emma Dufrene shot 221 (108-113), netting her a rank of 27th.

St. Joseph’s Anna Heine won the individual state championship with a score of 144.

Hahnville golf coach Shelby Lanier said his team was driven this season to return to the state tournament after getting a taste of it in 2016.

“Last year we went to state, we were just happy to get there,” Lanier said. “I think the girls were disappointed in their scores. They felt the pressure (of being there for the first time), and we finished in eighth place which was last (of qualifying teams).

“So our goal this year was to move up, play better and all three girls played better this year than they did last year. We improved from (Day  One to Day Two) and I’m very proud of all of them. They took it a lot more seriously this go around, and you could tell once we got to state, they had been here before and felt they belonged.”

Lanier said Walls, a sophomore, was “in the zone” over the course of the tourney and locked in her focus from the start.

“She’s an up and coming talent,” Lanier said. “She took a lot of strokes off of her score from last season. We feel like she has a good chance next season of winning the individual district championship and hopefully qualifying to return to state.”

Madeleine Dufrene, a senior, capped her Tigers career with her own strong performance. Lanier said she set an example of what hard work and dedication can bring, noting she took private lessons in addition to her prep play and made the commitment to making her game better.”

“We all wanted to get her back to state for her senior year,” Lanier said. “When she started here as a freshman, you could tell she had a lot of innate ability and natural talent for the game. She worked really hard the last four years. She wasn’t having as strong a season as she did (as a junior), but she persevered and when it came time for state, she really came through in a big way for us.”

 

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