Kelly Anderson’s 67 helps Wheaton South run away with DVC title

Wheaton Warrenville South senior Kelly Anderson heard that her team was playing well as she was putting together the best round of her career at the DuPage Valley Conference meet at Phillips Park in Aurora Tuesday.

Anderson bested her previous career low by shooting a 67, including a 32 on the back nine, the same number she shot on the back last year at the DVC meet en route to her previous career low of 71.

When she got back in after her round, she realized that the Tigers set a new school record by 11 strokes, shooting a 297 to win the conference title.

“That’s a really good score for high school golf, oh my gosh,” Anderson said. “To do so well and have the team do so well, it’s the icing on the cake.”

Anderson shot a bogey-free round and used her driver to set her up for her five birdies. Her extra length off the tee shortened the course and allowed her to put together the best round of her high school career.

“Kelly has been great all year,” WWS coach Art Tang said. “She bounces back better than any golfer I’ve ever had, whether it’s a bad shot, a bad hole or a bad round. She always comes back and plays a great round. It all paid off today. She did a great job, above and beyond what I expected.”

Defending champion Naperville North finished a distant second with a 346. With some youth and players returning from injury, the Huskies just didn’t have the firepower to catch the Tigers.

“We knew that they were going to be really good and really tough,” North coach Greta Williams said. “Kelly is an amazing player. This year, we don’t have anybody that can go super low for us. We knew that was going to be a challenge. We knew we were going to have to be on our game today, and we weren’t. Hat’s off to them, that’s an incredible score.”

Hannah McDaniel paced North with an 84, with Jaycie Waite adding an 86 and Camille Liontine an 87. All three of those players are juniors. Freshman Lauren Nay shot an 89.

Naperville Central was third with a 356. Junior Stephanie Robinson led the Redhawks with an 81, while Kate Ryan shot a 90.

For Wheaton South, sophomore Annalee Dannegger shot a 75, freshman Sarah Hauenstein shot a 76 and sophomore Priya Desai shot a 79.

“This past week, we hadn’t been playing our best golf and the girls really worked hard this weekend,” Anderson said. “I’m so proud of them. It’s a great feeling.”