Rachel Fujitani shot even-par 73 on both days at Lewis River Golf Course to win the tournament by one stroke over Ingraham junior Sarah Rhee. Sierra Bezdicek of Mt. Spokane, the first day leader, finished third five strokes back of Fujitani.
Fort Vancouver sophomore Bridget Standard earned a medal by finishing tied for eighth place and Mountain View senior Jenna’e LeComte placed 10th — the first Thunder girl to finish among the top 10 at a state golf tournament.
“It’s a little overwhelming, but I just went out and did my best,” LeComte said after shooting an 84 on Thursday to finish at 169. “My goal was to be in the top 10. I wasn’t really expecting it.”
With four girls making it past the first day, Mountain View knew it had a good chance at a top-four finish and the first state trophy for the program. They were thrilled that the trophy was for second place. Mountain View’s 69.5 points were 56 behind team champion Mt. Spokane’s 125.5.
“We thought we we’re going to get third or fourth — top three if we played well,” LeComte said. “(Second place) just kind of happened spontaneously.”
It happened because four Thunder girls played both days for the first time — a first for Mountain View coach Tom McCausland in his 17 seasons.
Freshman Annie Lu shot an 87 on Thursday and finished tied for 18th with a 36-hole score of 176.
“I wanted to shoot under 90, and I did that,” said Lu, whose 87 on Thursday was highlighted by a birdie on the par-4 14th hole.
Abby Kadrmas was tied for 22nd at 178. Ahreum Yang struggled on Thursday and finished at 201.
Fort Vancouver’s Standard shot 83 on Thursday, one stroke better than Wednesday’s round.
“I had chips that were very, very close and I sunk a lot of par putts,” Standard said. “I had a birdie (on the par-5 fifth hole). I generally just played a little better than yesterday.”
On her way to the championship, Mercer Island’s Fujitani had birdies on four of the first six holes on Thursday, shooting a 4-under-par 31 on the front nine to build a comfortable lead on Bezdicek.
“I just stuck my approach shots pretty close and made putts, so that was nice,” Fujitani said.
Her start impressed playing partner Bezdicek, who was in contention on the second day for the fourth year in a row.
“She was playing fantastic on the front side,” Bezdicek said. “When people are playing that well, you just have to be happy for them.”
The hot start gave Fujitani a comfortable lead on Bezdicek, who won this tournament in a playoff with her older sister Savana in 2012 and finished second in it as a freshman and a junior. But Fujitani didn’t know what was happening in the group ahead of them, where Rhee was hanging close.
“On the back, I just told myself to keep going, it’s not over yet,” Fujitani said. “I just knew where I wanted to put my ball. I just went for it and whatever happened, happened.”
On No. 10 what happened was a double bogey. Ditto on Hole 13. In both cases she had pars on the next hole, and birdies on holes 12 and 17 proved critical to a one-stroke victory over Rhee.
Rhee shot even-par 73 on Thursday and finished with a 36-hole score of 147. Bezdicek finished at 151. Also earning top-eight medals were Aleana Groenhout of Interlake (162), Catherine Warner of Southridge (163), Annie Ieete of Oak Harbor (164), Caitlin Maralack of Mount Si (165), Megan Billeter of Mt. Spokane (167) and Standard (167).
Bezdicek struggled early in Thursday’s round. She needed 41 strokes to get through the first nine holes.
“On the front nine I just wasn’t striking the ball very well,” said Bezdicek, who will join Savana to play college golf for Northern Arizona. “I wasn’t hitting greens in regulation, and I wasn’t getting up and down with my chipping. The bogeys just kept adding up.”
Bezdicek said that if she had any anxiety, it was how her round might impact her team’s championship dream.
Turns out, Mt. Spokane won comfortably. The Wildcats finished with 125.5 points. Billeter tied for eighth place, Hailey Warren of tied for 16th placed with a score of 175, Brianna Jensen shot 179 for 26th and Cailin Spencer tied for 27th at 180.
“This is huge. This is indescribable,” said Mt. Spokane coach Eleen Northcutt, who is in her 21st season coaching golf and has been at Mt. Spokane since the school opened in 1997. “The girls did what they came here to do. They were determined. They wanted the state trophy.”
