By Rob Potter
KIAMESHA LAKE — May 26, 2006 – The 23 young ladies who played in the Section IX Girls’ Golf Tournament on Tuesday at the Concord Monster Golf Course faced two challenges.
First, they had to deal with the always tough Monster course. Second, they had to adjust their games for the very cool temperatures and strong winds.
By the end of 18-hole event, only one golfer finished under 90. Kate Gallo of Warwick fired an 88 on the large, challenging par-72 course to win the Section IX title. Gallo recorded a 48 on the front nine and then posted a 40 on the back nine.
Ashley Zambito of Newburgh Free Academy shot a 92 to place second and Goshen’s Caitlin Sabbagh finished third with a 94.
Gallo, Zambito and Sabbagh will join the competitors who finished fourth through ninth at the state tournament, which is scheduled to be held on Monday, June 5 at Foxfire Country Club in Baldwinsville.
Three of the nine Section IX representatives at the state tourney are from Sullivan County: Alexis Brinkerhoff of Monticello, Melanie Kleiner of Sullivan West and Gabby Medina of Monticello.
Medina, a sophomore, finished fifth. She shot a 48 on the front nine and a 49 on the back nine for a total of 97.
Kleiner, a freshman, was sixth with a 99 (48-51).
Brinkerhoff, a junior, placed eighth with a 100 (51-49).
Sullivan County almost had a fourth qualifier, but Amy Sarinsky of John S. Burke Catholic School defeated Monticello’s Meredith Levine in a playoff for 10th place. Both finished the regulation 18 holes with a 105, but Sarinsky prevailed in the playoff and therefore will be the section’s alternate should any of the top nine golfers be unable to play at the state event.
“I just told myself to relax and have a fun day,” Medina said. “I had a good first hole and I was on my way.”
She noted that putting was a key to qualifying for the state competition.
Kleiner, who twice this season set a new Section IX scoring record for nine holes, did not play as well as she wanted to.
“I was pretty nervous today,” she said.
Kleiner also noted that the wind was a factor.
“On some holes I tried to hit the ball harder because of the wind and on others I didn’t take it into consideration,” she commented.
But Kleiner stated that she was very happy to earn a trip to the state tournament.
Brinkerhoff will also be making her second consecutive trip to the Fox Fire course.
“Despite the fact that my putting was horrible today, I managed to play pretty well,” she said.
In addition to Levine, four other Sullivan County golfers failed to make the cut. They were: Nicole Failla of Roscoe (60-59-119), Jessica Orlan of Fallsburg (62-58-120), Kate Fanning of Sullivan West (57-66-123) and Bianca Rappaport of Fallsburg (62-63-125).