Strong finish boosts Middie golfer in qualifier

Middletown High golfer top girls seed at Weatherwax

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By Skip Weaver, Staff Writer Updated 3:06 PM Tuesday, July 14, 2009

MADISON TWP. — Allie Lawwill erased from her mind a difficult first nine holes to finish strong Monday, July 13, in the qualifying round of the Middletown Junior City Match Play tournament at Weatherwax Golf Course.

Lawwill, a sophomore at Middletown High School, struggled to shoot 43 on the front nine, but recorded several birdies and an eagle on the back side to finish with an 80, which earned her the top seed in her girls age division.

“I think I was just trying too hard on the front nine,” Lawwill said. “Anytime I play, I want to play the best I can, so sometimes that puts too much pressure on myself.

“I just relaxed and pulled it together better on the back,” she added.

She had to relax if she wanted to get that top seed because fellow Middie Abbie Birchwell held a four-shot lead on her through the first nine holes.

“I was really happy with the way I played today,” said Birchwell, who shot 39 on the front and finished with an 82 in her first competitive tournament this summer. “Of course, I’m always disappointed after a bad shot, but overall it wasn’t really horrible.”

Birchwell, who will be a senior at MHS this fall, has a pretty busy summer schedule with several other activities, which hasn’t left her much time to play golf.

“I surprised myself really,” Birchwell said. “I think my attitude has gotten a lot better. I came in today pretty confident for not having played much.”

Lawwill receives a bye and will meet the winner between Birchwell and Abigail Wellens (101) in Thursday’s finals.

On the boys side, Lakota East’s Matt Witzman shot a 74 to take the top seed in the boys 17-18 age division.

This was only his fourth tournament of the summer, he said.

“I got a late start because of the (high school) tennis season,” said Witzman, who was a member of the Greater Miami Conference champion Thunderhawks’ team. “It feels nice to have a good number like that. I’m starting to get my game back a little.

“The key was that I didn’t have any blow-up holes,” he added.

Middletown’s Jake Fletcher shot 80 to earn the second seed, followed by Middletown’s Garrett Lebo (94) and Austin Barber (96).

In the boys 15-16 age division, Lakota East’s Kyle Witzman shot 74 to earn the top seed. Middletown’s Kyle Brown (75) was second. There are six others in this bracket.

In the 13-14 boys, Christina Ridge shot 96 to take the top spot. Nick Haven (97) was second out of 10 players.

Seth Sipple shot 42 on nine holes to lead the 12 and under age group. Drake Couch (48) was second, followed by Miles Jena (50) and Corey Short (52).

Quarterfinals will be played today, with semifinals on Wednesday and finals on Thursday.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.

Tournament scores on B3.

Check out more photos at MiddletownJournal.com

Get info on every area golf course at Middletown Journal.com/go/golfguide

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