Qualifying for state is nothing new for Sandburg senior Frankie Saban.
Last season as a junior, Saban won medalist honors at the sectional round to help the Eagles advance to the state tournament as a team.
Well for Saban, it doesn’t get old, even the second time around.
Playing at the Class AA Lincoln-Way Central Sectional, Sandburg finished with 310 strokes, good for second place to advance to the state tournament this Friday and Saturday at Hickory Point Golf Club in Forsyth.
“It means everything, especially because I’m going downstate with my team,” Saban said. “We’re all so close, and I just want to get back out there and play better than I did last year. I’m all about improvement so hopefully there is much of that.”
The top three teams and top 10 scores from non-qualifying teams advance to state. Hinsdale Central (304) took top honors with Waubonsie Valley (314) also advancing as a team. Waubonsie’s Bing Singhsumalee took medalist honors with her round of 66.
Sandburg advanced as a team for the second straight year with the Eagles looking to improve on last year’s 11th-place finish.
“It’s a credit to the girls because this is due to their hard work,” Sandburg coach Todd Allen said. “Unbelievably proud of them, and 310 was our low score by far of the year. To do it on the sectional stage is fantastic.”
Also scoring for the Eagles were Emily Cosler (77), Emilyee McGiles (80) and Patty Meza (81).
“Each match, each tournament we progress a little bit, and we get better and better,” Saban said. “It showed today. We all went pretty low (scoring) and came together with our team-low score.“
Advancing individually from the area was Lincoln-Way West’s Alexis Biedrzycki (70), Lincoln-Way East’s Kelly Sterling (72), T.F. South’s Maggie Sloan (74), Providence’s Alyssa Gromala (74) and Lockport’s Kayla Garritson (79).
“I started hitting well with my driver and really striking it well,” Biedrzycki said. “My putter has been the issue this season so I worked on that a lot this week. The putts started to drop, not all of them, but that was the difference. It gives me some good confidence going into state.”
For Sterling, it was her fourth time qualifying for state, an accomplishment not lost on the Lincoln-Way East senior. Sterling’s older sister, Kathy, qualified three times during her Lincoln-Way East career.
“Fourth time to state, not a lot of people can say that,” Sterling said. “I think I can get in that top 5 this weekend, maybe even win. I’m really proud of having reached all four years.”
