Bing Singhsumalee sparks Waubonsie Valley to state

An individual medalist title for Waubonsie Valley’s Bing Singhsumalee.

A state berth for the Warriors at a loaded sectional.

What better way to celebrate? Singhsumalee’s teammates carried her in their arms for a celebratory gag picture.

“We were just so excited to make it as a team,” Singhsumalee said with a smile. “We’ve been so close the last few years, and it feels great to get it done.”

With Singhsumalee shooting a 66 to earn medalist honors, Waubonsie Valley finished with a final score of 314, good for third place behind Hinsdale Central (304) and Sandburg (310) at the Class AA Lincoln-Way Central Sectional at the Sanctuary Golf Course in New Lenox.

The top three teams and the top 10 individual scores from non-qualifying teams advance to this weekend’s state tournament at Hickory Point in Forsyth.

For the Warriors, advancing as a team meant everything. Waubonsie Valley missed out on advancing to state the last three seasons by three, four and nine strokes.

“As a team, this was our goal to make it to state,” Singhsumalee said. “We want to play well, and individually I want to play consistent. Just keep playing the way I am now and see what happens.”

The senior continued her hot play, following her regional-title score of 68 with an effort that included six birdies.

“My approach shots are straight, my drives are straight, and the putting is good,” Singhsumalee said. “I can’t complain. There’s some mis-hits, but I’ve been able to get that par. My approach shots were just consistent where I was looking at 4-foot birdie putts.”

Also scoring for Waubonsie Valley were Arushi Singh (74), Kayla McHale (82) and Kerrigan Boose (92).

Metea Valley (339) finished sixth.

The Mustangs will send Katelyn Kline (68) and Niquole Mangal (80) to state as individuals.

A three-time state qualifier, Kline is ready for whatever the weekend has to offer.

“My putting was really working for me, and I took my time,” Kline said. “It’s always a blast qualifying for state. The sectional is always the most stressful part. Once you get to state, you can just have fun and play.”

Also qualifying for state was Neuqua Valley’s Jessica Yuen. The junior shot a 69 as she qualified for the state tournament for a third straight year and will defend her Class AA state title.

“It’s still cool qualifying for state,” Yuen said. “My goal is always to do better than the last year. I won last year, but I want to maintain that spot. (Monday) my drives were on the fairway most of the time and my approach shots were close enough.”

Neuqua Valley finished ninth, combining for a 353.

Naperville North ended up fifth, finishing with a 336.