A year-ending disappointment in 2013 and a record-breaking start to 2014 are coming together for the Barrington girls golf team heading into the postseason.
The Fillies fell one stroke short of qualifying for last year’s Class AA state meet but won the Lake Forest Regional at Deerpath Golf Course on Wednesday with a team score of 359. No player may be more focused than Barrington sophomore Reena Sulkar, who tied for first at the regional with a 76 and lost a one-hole playoff with Lake Forest’s Emily Young.
In her first 18-hole match this season, Sulkar fired a school-record-tying 68 at the Barrington Invitational at Bonnie Dundee Golf Course. But individual glory is not on her mind now.
“Last year we were robbed by one stroke,” Sulkar said. “We were not there and we all knew it. If we had made one more shot, we would have won the tiebreaker.”
Sulkar will be using the same approach she took when she shot her 68 during sectional and — if all goes well — state play. She was not thinking about her score most of the way at Bonnie Dundee. She was thinking about each shot.
“I didn’t think about my score until I birdied the 17th hole,” Sulkar said. “I knew the next hole was a par 5 I could reach. I hit a drive and an 8-iron to the green and two-putted. I just stayed calm.”
That unruffled attitude is one she hopes will help Barrington in the state series.
The Fillies are a young team — the tournament six includes a freshman, three sophomores (including Sulkar) and two seniors — but have experience under pressure. Sulkar and fellow sophomore Shivani Majmudar went to state as individuals in 2013, with Sulkar placing 28th and Majmudar 92nd. Majmudar, too, is thinking about that one stroke, like a must-make 5- or 10-foot putt.
“If you tell yourself you’ll be able to make that 5-foot putt, you should be able to do it,” Majmudar said. “You have to put all of your bad shots aside. It’s all about concentration.”
Coach Jodi Schoeck is aware that the experience Sulkar and Majmudar got at the 2013 state tournament could pay dividends for all the Fillies this year.
“Just getting to state as freshmen is quite an accomplishment,” Schoeck said. “That experience in a competitive tournament is going to help their scores. The two of them will be able to keep the team’s confidence up.”
With a 10-1 record in dual meets and a third-place finish in the Mid-Suburban League meet, there have already been successes this season. Sulkar was the individual conference champion.
Joining Sulkar and Majmudar in the postseason are seniors Bailee McDonald and Julia Bulgarelli along with freshman Swetha Seshadri and another sophomore, Allie Quinn.
