Maine South’s Krall twins give each other boost

Annie and Katie Krall first picked up a golf club at the age of 6 and, ever since then, they’ve spent countless hours together on the golf course.

The time the twins, who are juniors at Maine South, have spent playing golf has helped them become two of the Hawks’ best players. It’s also allowed them to regularly serve as each other’s biggest competition, coach, best friend and source of emotional support.

“She’s always helped coach me, and she’s helped me with my sand game enormously,” Katie Krall said. “She’s very good with wedges. We recently got a new set of wedges. She was telling me about how to position my hands differently to hit the ball softer in different situations, and about how to position my legs if I’m under a tree and how to not get too much leverage with the ball.”

The Krall sisters played golf in northern Wisconsin for much of the summer while they stayed at the family’s summer home in Hayward. They said they spent their summer playing in one tournament a week while also practicing at Hayward’s local courses.

Tournament play provided the twins with the opportunity to experience a level of competition similar to what they’re likely to face this fall at Maine South. It also gave the Kralls the chance to help each other emotionally when needed.

Annie Krall said there are times when her sister will come over to her — specifically when Annie Krall’s become frustrated — and break her tension by mentioning something trivial, like the TV shows they’re going to watch that night.

Annie Krall also knows what it takes to help Katie Krall lift her spirits when things aren’t going her way on the course.

“The relationship that my sister and I have is very strong and it definitely pays off on the golf course,” Annie Krall said. “We can look at each other and say, ‘Katie, I know you missed that putt, but it’s fine. The next hole is totally new, and you’re going to do fine.’ That’s just something I love having with her.”

NILES WEST, RIDGEWOOD, NILES NORTH

Female golfers at Niles West were in a position similar to their counterparts at Niles North and Ridgewood last year.

The girls at all three schools were forced to play on the boys teams in recent years until the start of the state series. Then they would play as individuals against female competitors.

Niles North senior Quynh Nguyen and Ridgewood senior Sabrina Bonanno had success doing that last year: Nguyen advanced to sectionals and Bonanno won the Class A state title

Niles West, however, now has enough interest to start a girls golf team.

“There’s always been interest for the girls to have their own, separate program,” said Rich Lee, the new girls golf coach at Niles West. “It wasn’t really until last year when they had a core of five or six girls who expressed interest and actually played at some level. We have a core of four (sophomore) girls who played previously. We had one or two seniors who also played on the squad. It just felt like the timing was right to become a program this season.”