Girls Golf: Continued improvement

Low-scorer Brianna Swenson

Inclement weather played havoc with the schedule but the Tigers still managed to show improvement during the 2014 season.

Though it slipped a spot in the Missota Conference rankings from last spring, Farmington rallied to place eighth out of 12 teams at the Section 1AAA Championships, its highest finish in recent years.

"Our team score dropped from around 460 to 400 over the season," coach Jon Stock said. "This is a competitive score in our conference.

"Overall, it was a great year for Tiger golf. The girls all improved and had fun doing it. Though our numbers were down a bit from last year, our scores improved."

Nine players earned varsity letters for their play, including just two seniors: Brianna Swenson and Abby Monroe.

Underclassmen letterwinners included junior Jessica Olsen and Kaitlin O'Connell and sophomores Amanda Hansmann, Sidney Comes, Brook McConnell, Emma Sullivan and Kassandra Kruckeberg.

Swenson and Comes capped their 2104 seasons by making the cut for the final round of Section 1AAA individual play.

Stock said his program is working on two things to continue its upward trend: add more younger players to the mix and get more girls to play golf over the summer months.

That will be important because Farmington will be moving to the South Suburban Conference next fall. Stock sees the move as a competitive challenge that will also have some immediate benefits.

"We will get to play courses closer to home," he said, "so the girls will need to miss less school. They are excited for that."

Girls Golf: Season ends at section meet

Brianna Swenson

Tiger senior Brianna Swenson shot a second round 102 to finish her 36-hole run in the Section 1AAA tournament at 194, 19 shots above the cut line for next week's state tournament.

Another Tiger golfer, Sidney Comes, also qualified for the second round but did not compete in the meet held Monday at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

"It was a good day for Brianna at her last high school golf meet," coach Jon Stock said.

Girls Golf: Swenson, Comes advance

Sidney Comes

Brianna Swenson

Farmington shot a season-low team score and two Tigers advanced to the Section 1AAA championship round of individual play at Thursday's first round played at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Lakeville North led the team rankings after round one with 340 strokes. Owatonna placed second at 356, followed by Northfield 358, Winona 361, Rochester Mayo 412, Lakeville South 423, Farmington 430, Rochester John Marshall 432, Rochester Century 439, Faribault 440 and Austin 479.

"The eighth place finish was one of our best in a long time," Tiger coach Jon Stock said, "and Brianna (Swenson) had her best round ever."

Swenson who lowered her personal best-ever score to 92, and teammate Sidney Comes who shot 108 will return to Cannon Falls on Monday to play in the second round of the individual competition.  The top ten finishers in round one not on one of the six teams qualifying for round two advanced.

Other Tiger opening round scores included Kaitlin Jokinen 116, Amanda Hansmann 118 and Brooke McConnell 130.

Girls Golf: Tigers host Missota finale

Brianna Swenson low Tiger scorer at Missota Finale

Farmington played host to the final Missota Conference meet of the season (and forever, actually) Wednesday at Fountain Valley Golf Course.

The Tigers played shorthanded at the league finale, fielding the team minimum of four players, and finished seventh in the seven-team field. Holy Angels did not participate in the meet.

Red Wing captured the league title with a low team total of 338 strokes.New Prague finished in the runner-up slot with 345, followed by Chanhassen 365, Northfield 379, Shakopee 397, Chaska 398, Farmington 463.

Brianna Swanson  shot the low Farmington round of the meet with a  97 (46-51), one shot fewer than teammate Katlin Jokinen's 98 (49-49). Sidney Comes shot 118 (54-64) and Kassandra Kuchenberg 150 (73-77).

"Our turnout was not optimal," coach Jon Stock said, "but the girls that came did great...and we had our best weather of the year!"

Next up for the Tigers is a trip to the Cannon Valley Golf Club next Tuesday for the opening round of Section 1AA play

The girls tried to get a preview of that course when they started a tournament there on Monday. Unfortunately, rain halted the proceedings after nine holes with Farmington sitting in eighth place in the 10-team standings.

Swenson stood eighth in the individual rankings with a nine-hole round of 48.

"It was some tough weather but good practice for the sections," Stock said.

Girls Golf: Tigers trail the pack

Kaitlin Jokinen shot 99 at Mississippi National

Farmington finished sixth among six teams at a Missota Conference tournament played Tuesday at windy Mississippi National Golf Club in Red Wing.

State-ranked New Prague edged host Red Wing 311-312 to claim the team title. Northfield ranked third at 362, followed by Chanhassen 364, Chaska 371, Shakopee 400 and Farmington 467.

New Prague's Kenzie Neilsen claimed individual honors with a round of  70.

For the Tigers, Brianna Swenson shot the low round of the day, checking in with 98, one shot better than teammate Kaitlin Jokinen.

Brooke McConnell finished at 121 and Cassandra Krackeberg shot 149 to round out the Farmington score card.

"Most everyone got their personal best score, and it was a beautiful day," coach Jon Stock said. "I think this is a good sign for sections this year."

Girls Golf: Tigers finally hit the links

Brianna Swenson

After three-plus weeks of mostly indoor drills the Tigers finally got to take some outdoor swings Friday at the Faribault Invitational played at the Faribault Golf Club.

A skeleton squad of five golfers made the trip south and finished 10th in a quality eleven-team field.

Defending Missota Conference champion New Prague won the meet with a low team total of 337 strokes, 35 fewer than runner-up BenildeSt. Margaret's.

Owatonna took third place with 389, followed by Prior Lake 398, St. Croix Lutheran 413, Chanhassen 415, Lakeville South 447, Faribault 454, Kasson-Mantorville 455, Farmington 489 and Rochester Century 490.

Senior Brianna Swenson led the Farmington effort with a round of 99. Emma Sullivan finished at 126, followed by Sidney Comes 128, Abby Monroe 136 and Amanda Hansmann 136.

"It was a beautiful day for golf," Tiger coach Jon Stock said. "Scores were a bit higher than normal, but not too bad for only having two outdoor practices before hand."

The Tigers next tee it up Wednesday, April 23, when they travel to Stonebrooke Golf Club in Shakopee for the first Missota Conference meet of the season.

Girls Golf: A small step forward

Brianna Swenson qualified for section finals

The Tigers played an abbreviated season thanks to a seemingly never-ending winter but still showed some improvement, moving up to seventh place in the Missota Conference standings.

"We grew in numbers and got a lot of practice putting," coach Jon Stock said of the weather-hampered season. "By the end of the season the girls were getting up and down with ease."

Six players earned varsity letters for their efforts during the 2013 season: senior Alexis House; junior Brianna Swenson; sophomores Halea Wright and Kaitlyn Jokinen and freshmen Brooke McConnell and Sidney Comes.

Swenson finished atop the Farmington leaderboard in every meet this season and for the second straight year advanced to the final round of Section 1AA individual play.

Stock said the enduring winter provided the biggest disappointment of the 2013 season.

"The weather didn't allow us many days to practice," he said. "It pushed all of our meets into May so even when it was nice, we couldn't practice because we were competing."

But the second year Tiger coach added the best may lie ahead for the FHS girls' golf program.

"If we can keep our numbers and get some nice weather in April, we will be looking good," he said "We will have several girls competing for varsity spots and should have a few who routinely shoot under 100."

Golf season hits the clubhouse

Erik Holmstrom

The Tigers boys' and girls' golf seasons came to an end Monday in the final round of the Section 1AA Championships played at Bellwood Oaks Golf Course and Cannon Valley Golf Club respectively.

The boys finished seventh in the final team standings at Bellwood while Brianna Swenson competed in the girls' individual tourney in Cannon Falls. The Tiger girls did not qualify for the final round of section team play.

Lakeville North claimed the boys team championship with a two-round team total of 613, thirteen shots better than runner-up Rochester Century. Winona took third with 629, followed by Owatonna 636, Albert Lea 657, Red Wing 663, Farmington 687 and Rochester Mayo 696.

Erik Holmstrom led the way for the Tigers with 80, followed by Garrett Heidelberger 85, Darby Grengs 86, Grant Hauswirth 88, Jake Jensen 88 and Nate Anderson 94.

"It was some much needed experience that our team earned," Tiger coach Jon Holmes said of his team's second round effort.  "We also got to send off a few of our seniors with one more shot at the tourney...We didn’t light it up by any means, but we gained some experience that will pay dividends next year."

Brianna Swenson

At Cannon Falls Swenson matched her first round score of 107 to finish at 214 in 43rd place among 49 competitors. The section finals appearance was the second in a row for the Tiger junior.

Girls Golf: Swenson to Section 1AAA finals

Brianna Swenson

Farmington's team season officially came to halt Thursday with an 11th place finish at the 12-team Section 1AAA Championships at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Junior Brianna Swenson's 2013 season will live on for at least another day, however, as her round of 107 qualified her for the final round of section individual play slated for Monday back in Cannon Falls.

Swenson also qualified for the Section 1AAA finals last season where she finished 30th overall.

Northfield and Red Wing tied for the opening round team lead with a total of 356 strokes. Lakeville North and Rochester Mayo finished three shots back at 359, followed by Owatonna 377, Winona 383, Albert Lea 398, Austin 408, Rochester John Marshall 421, Faribault 433, Farmington 474, Rochester Century 489.

Sidney Comes shot 120, Halea Wright 122, Alexis House 125 and Kaitlin Jokinen 128 to round out the Farmington scorecard.

Girls Golf: Tigers seventh in Missota

Brooke McConnell

Farmington finished seventh in the fifth and final Missota Conference meet of the season played Monday at the Chaska Town Course.

The seventh place finish locked up the seventh spot in the final league rankings for the Tigers, one rung higher on the league ladder than the finished last spring.

"We lucked out and had intermittently good weather," coach Jon Stock said. "Now that we have the conference behind us we can begin working on our skills for the sections."

New Prague sewed up the 2013 conference title with a 338-341 win over runner-up Red Wing. Chaska ranked third at 348, followed by Northfield 366, Chanhassen 368, Shakopee 385, Farmington 459 and Holy Angels 486.

As she has all spring, Brianna Swenson topped the Tiger score card with a round of 111, two shots better than Brooke McConnell who turned in her best round of the spring with a 113.

Sidney Comes finished at 116, Kaitlin Jokinen 119, Alexis House 121 and Halea Wright 122.

The Tigers open post-season play next Thursday, May 30, at the Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Girls Golf: Swenson continues to lead Tigers

Brianna Swenson low Tiger scorer

Brianna Swenson held on to her spot as the low Tiger scorer and Farmington held onto it seventh place ranking in the fourth of five Missota Conference meets played Wednesday at Heritage Links Golf Club in Lakeville.

New Prague edged Chaska 332-33 for the top spot in the meet. Red Wing ranked third at 337, followed by Chanhassen 351, Northfield 368, Shakopee 370, Farmington 463 and Holy Angels 483.

Kenzie Neisen of New Prague won medalist honors with a three-under par round of 69.

"We were missing a couple of our varsity golfers, but we came very close to our team score from Monday," coach Jon Stock said.

"Heritage is a tough course, but overall the girls played well. They have learned a lot. Next week we will have only one meet, so we will get a lot of time to work on skills before sections."

Swenson finished at 103 over the challenging Heritage Links course, four shots in front of teammate Sidney Comes.  Halea Wright shot 114, Brooke McConnell 119, Jessica Singewald 127 and Abby Monroe 127.

Next Monday the Tigers will compete in the final conference meet of the season at the Chaska Towne Course.

The opening round of Section 1AA play takes place the following Thursday at the Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Girls Golf: Tigers hold on to seventh

 

Sidney Comes best round of the season

Despite playing shorthanded because two varsity regulars had academic conflicts, the Tigers managed to hold on to seventh place at the third Missota Conference meet of the season played Monday at the New Prague Golf Course.

"Everything went well," coach Jon Stock said. "Because we had two players out our team score was a bit higher than it was at the last meet, but all of our golfers improved their scores, so it was a successful day."

Red Wing and New Prague continued their heated battle for the top spot with the Wingers edging the Trojans 346-348 for meet honors. Northfield placed third at 349, followed by Chaska 368, Shakopee 379, Chanhassen 396, Farmington 468 and Holy Angels 476.

Brianna Swenson continued to top the Tiger scorecard with an 18-hole round of 108. Sidney Comes had her best round of the spring with 110. Halea Wright finished at 116, Alexis House 117, Amanda Hansmann 125 and Brooke McConnell 134. 

Wednesday the Tigers head to Heritage Links Golf Club in Lakeville for the fourth of five Missota Conference meets.

Girls Golf: Tigers finally hit the course

Brianna Swenson

After several weather-related false starts the Tigers finally hit the competitive road this week, finishing eighth and seventh respectively in the first two Missota Conference meets of the season.

Coach Jon Stock's squad trailed the pack Monday in the league opener at Northfield Golf Club won by New Prague. The Trojans edged rival Red Wing by two strokes 332-334 for the lead.

The Tigers finished at 487 and trailed seventh place Holy Angels by 20 strokes.

Brianna Swenson carded the low round of the meet for Farmington, finishing at 110. Sidney Comes carded 119, Brooke McConnell 123, Kaitlin Jokinen 135 and Julie Singewald 139.

A day later at Stonebrooke Golf Course New Prague again crept by Red Wing, this time by six strokes, for top honors to set up what should be a tight race to the finish line.

The Tiger fortunes also improved as it totaled 452 to beat Holy Angels by 14 strokes and move into seventh place.

Swenson again paced Farmington with a round of 104. Comes finished three shots back at 107, followed by Jokinen 109, McConnell, Singewald 119, McConnell 121, and Alexis House 129.

"From our first to second meet, we lowered our team score by almost 40 strokes," coach Stock said, " and we hope to continue to improve through the next few weeks."

Girls Golf Goal: Improvement

Brianna Swenson 2nd round section qualifier in 2012

Second-year coach Jon Stock has a one-word goal for his Tiger girls this spring: Improvement.

Last spring a young and inexperienced team lagged will behind its Missota Conference rivals as it learned the rigors of varsity play, especially in the early going.

"We have a few golfers new to the game and several that want to shave a few strokes off their score," he said.  "The girls improved a lot over the course of last year.  We hope to repeat that (this year)."

Heading the list of returnees is junior Breanna Swenson who turned a few heads last spring when she advanced to the final round of the Section 1AA individual championships.

Also returning from last year's squad are senior Alexis House and sophomores Jessica Singewald, Halea Wright, Jessica Olson and Kaitlin Jokinen.

Newcomers also expected to battle for varsity playing time this spring include seniors Melanie Kappes and ShyAnne Spurzem; junior Abigail Monroe and freshmen Sidney Comes, Kassondra Kruckenberg, Amanada Hansmann, Amanda Lange, Brooke McConnell and Emma Sullivan.

"I think our main strength will be our dedication and our desire to learn and improve," Stock said. "There are still many questions, but right now the biggest one is when will the snow melt and allow us to hit the course."
Weather permitting, the Tigers are scheduled to kick off their season April 12 with an appearance at the Faribault Invitational.

Girls Golf: A season to grow on

Seniors Megan Elliott (above) and Amanda Stienkeoway

With a new coach and a team full of new players the Tigers' to-do list for the 2012 season was a long one with individual improvement sitting on the top rung of the ladder.

Not unexpectedly the Tigers finished at the bottom of the Missota Conference standings in each of the five league meets. But they did beat a couple of teams at the Section 1AAA Championships and had one player, sophomore Brianna Swenson, advance to the final day of competition.

"This was an amazing year," first-year coach Jon Stock said. "It was great to be able to see the improvements that all of the golfers made. I am honored to have had the pleasure of working with such a great group of young people. 

"Coaches teach more than a game. We teach young people how to deal with challenges, follow rules, and how to choose the honorable path. In that sense, this season was a huge success."

Eight players competed on the varsity team at one time or another this season and all earned varsity letters, including seniors Amanda Stienkeoway and Megan Elliott; junior Alexis House; sophomore Swenson and freshmen Kaitlin Jokinen, Jessica Singewald, Jessica Olson and Halea Wright.

Stock said that the individual improvement of all of the girls provided the biggest highlight of the 2012 campaign.

"Everyone on the team achieved a new personal best score," he said. "Everyone did their best and played with honor...One player improved her game by 30 strokes."

Stock said with six letterwinners returning next season, future success will depend on two things: 1) continued individual improvement and 2) the addition of new players to the program. 

"The more practice we get, the more competitive we will be," he said. "We also need to raise our numbers. We have a number of interested parties for next season."

Girls Golf: Swenson 30th in Section 1AA

Brianna Swenson

Tiger sophomore Brianna Swenson posted a round of 97 to finish 30th in a 49-player field in the final round of Section 1AA individual play Monday, June 4, at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Swenson qualified for final round play with an opening-round 98 on the same course the previous Thursday.

Tiger coach Jon Stock was pleased with Swenson's season-ending effort.

"Brianna was one shot away from a personal best," he said.

Girls Golf: Swenson makes second round cut

Farmington's team season came to an end Thursday afternoon at the Section 1AA Championships held at Cannon Golf Club but sophomore Brianna Swenson made the cut for Tuesday's final round of individual play slated for Monday, June 3, at the same site.

Swenson carded her second lowest round of the season, finishing with 98 on the par-72 course. She tied for 10th place among golfers whose team did no qualify for the final round.

Red Wing took a commanding lead in the team competition with a low total of 326 strokes. Northfield finished a distant second at 358, followed by Lakeville North 362, Owatonna 365, Rochester Mayo 379, Rochester John Marshall 400, Winona 403, Austin 405, Albert Lea 408, Faribault 449, Farmington 460 and Rochester Century 470.

Freshman Halea Wright turned in a personal best 117 for the Tigers, two shots better than teammate Megan Elliot. Alexis House finished at 126 and Kaitlin Jokenin 137.

Girls Golf: End of the Missota road

Alexis House shot a personal-best 109

The Tigers closed the books on their 2012 regular season with an eighth place finish at the Missota Conference Championships played Monday at Deer Run Golf Course in Victoria.

Chanhassen surprised perennial league champion  Red Wing 319-332 to win the league final. New Prague ranked third at 325, followed by Northfield 342, Chaska 345, Holy Angels 385, Shakopee 386 and Farmington 457.

Farmington's stroke total was 16 fewer than its showing at the last conference meet.

Brianna Swenson kept her place atop the the Farmington scorecard, shooting rounds of 56 and 51 for a 107 total. Alexis House finished two shots back with a season-best 109. Kaitlyn Jokenin shot 120, Halea Wright 121 and Megan Elliott 123.

The girls have one remaining meet on their schedule, the Section 1AA Championships slated for May 31 and June 4 at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Girls Golf: Reaching their personal goals

Kaitlin Jokenin shaved 5 strokes off her previous round

After four consecutive eighth place finishes in Missota Conference tournaments the Tigers are pretty sure where they will rank in the final league standings.

But that doesn't mean some individual season goals can't be met and first-year coach Jon Stock says his players are doing exactly that.

"The golfers all scored well for them on a difficult course," he said.  "We were only able to send four golfers to this meet...Again, the girls achieved personal goals and overall, had good individual days."

Brianna Swenson continued to lead the Tiger scorers at Thursday's meet played at Mississippi National in Red Wing with a round of 107. 

Megan Elliott finished at 117, Kaitlyn Jokenin 120 and Jessica Olson 138 to round out the abbreviated Farmington scorecard.

The Tigers will try to improve on those numbers some more on Monday when they travel to Deer Run Golf Course in Victoria for the final Missota Conference meet of the season.

Girls Golf: Pecking away

Brianna Swenson shot 97 at Creek's Bend

The young and inexperienced Tigers finished eighth at the third Missota Conference tournament of the 2012 season played Monday at Creeks' Bend Golf Club.

Red Wing won the meet with a low team total of 301 strokes. New Prague placed second with 318, followed by Chanhassen 327, Northfield 339, Chaska 343, Shakopee 359, Holy Angels 403 and Farmington 473.

Though the Tigers trailed the league field for the the third consecutive meet, coach Jon Stock said his young and inexperienced team continued to show signs of promise.

"Most of the girls had a personal best in the meet," he said. "The team is very happy with its continuing improvement."

Brianna Swenson led the Tiger effort with her first  sub-100 round of the spring, a 97. Halea Wright shot 124, Kaitlin Jokenin 125 and Jessica Singewald 127.

Thursday the Tigers will be looking to shave some more strokes off their score at the fourth Missota Conference meet of the season, this one at Mississippi National Golf Club in Red Wing.