May 3, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

S’side golf falls prey to Owls
by TOM UTESCHER

The combination of a limited schedule and a spate of bad weather made for a late start to the 2007 golf season for Springside School, and it wasn’t until early last week that the Lion linksters got their first taste of interscholastic competition.

The Owls of Agnes Irwin, who already had one win in the bag, took a home-away series from Springside last Monday and Tuesday.

The Lions’ new coach this season is Sue Reilly, a longtime player, coach and instructor who also happens to be the mother of Mount St. Joseph Academy coach Will Reilly, who guided the Magic to the PIAA state championship last fall.

This spring, Episcopal Academy has started up a team, joining the four all-girls schools (Springside, Irwin, Baldwin and Notre Dame) who pioneered Girls Inter-Ac golf last year. That’s a good thing, because non-league matches are tough to come by due to the fact that most schools play girls golf in the autumn.

Last Monday, Springside and Agnes Irwin squared off for the first match of their series on the Owls’ home course at Philadelphia Country Club. With a par round of 35, Irwin senior Alissa Roland led the hosts to a 222-258 victory over the Lions, who had sophomore Amanda Lownes shoot a 39.

Springside got a bit closer on Tuesday, halving the final margin in the team score from 36 to 18 strokes for a 266-284 final.

Irwin’s Roland, who will attend Yale next year, once again produced the best round, a 42, while her sister Heather, a junior, finished up in 48 strokes.

The Rolands are the cousins of James and Mike Kania, who are two of the top players for Haverford School, one of Chestnut Hill Academy’s primary rivals in boys Inter-Ac golf.

The team score for the Owls was rounded out by a 50 from Kate Panarese, a 56 from Cassaundra Finke, and a 70 from Maddie Winter.

Sophomore Gretchen Carlson led Springside, having brought her score down from a 55 on Monday to a 44 at Sunnybrook. The home course did not have the same effect for Lownes, although her 52 was still among the better rounds for the day.

The Lions received a pair of 62’s from Sarah MacEachern, another sophomore, and from Liz Wetherill, a senior who’s headed to Hobart/William Smith. Freshman Charlotte Lowry’s round of 64 completed Springside’s team tally.

The other players on the Lions’ 2007 roster are senior Sarah Boothby (Roanoke College), sophomores Jackie Lantieri and Devon Winter, and freshman Charlotte Lowry. Since all but two team members are ninth and tenth-graders, coach Reilly has a solid core of players to work with for the next couple of years.