ND, ST. VINCENT SWING FOR STATE TITLES THIS WEEK

St. Vincent, a perennial state power, and Notre Dame, trying to make its mark at the state level, will begin pursuit of state golf championships for the 2001 high school season Monday.

Two other local teams, Cape Girardeau Central and Jackson, will each send an individual qualifier to the two-round state meet, which concludes on Tuesday.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame, four-time state qualifier, will participate in its fifth state tournament when play begins at the par-72 Island Green Golf Club in Republic, Mo.

The Bulldogs will be making their first appearance as the Class 2A, District 1 champion. The previous state tournament appearances were as district runner-up.

"We started the season with a goal of winning our first district championship," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet, "which we accomplished. To finish in the top four at state would be great."

With senior Nick Martin and junior Tim Buerck providing leadership and experience, the Bulldogs are poised to improve on a 13th-place finish in last year's state meet. Individually, Buerck tied for 39th while Martin finished in a tie for 43rd in the 2000 tournament.

Seniors Elliot Maschmann and Ryan Hannan, along with sophomore Adam Fenwick, round out the Notre Dame squad. In district competition at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson, Fenwick (88), along with Martin (80) and Buerck (86), finished in the top ten to earn all-district honors.

Janet, who led Notre Dame to a 15-5 dual match record, said," These guys are ready to go."

Notre Dame and the other 15 teams will have no defending champion in their path to the 2A state title, as 2000 champion Maryville has moved up to Class 3A.

St. Vincent

Once again, tradition-rich St. Vincent returns to the state tournament as Class 1A, District 1 champs with a wealth of talent and experience.

The Indians will tee it up at the Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course, a par-70 layout in Springfield, Mo.

Coming off a second-place finish last year, St. Vincent will likely be dissatisfied with anything less than a state crown in 2001.

Led by all-state seniors Craig Schumer and Jon Paulus, the Indians have been in the thick of state championship tilts throughout the 1990s with consistently high finishes, including first in '98, third in '99 and second in 2000. Since 1990, St. Vincent has one first, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth-place finish to its credit.

Paulus led the St. Vincent contingent in the 2000 tournament with a fourth-place finish, while junior Wes Richardet finished in a tie for 19th. Schumer tied for 32nd and senior Mark Gotto finished alone at 66th. Junior Andrew Prost, the fifth member of this team, did not compete at the state level last year, but has had a solid campaign in 2001.

Longtime St. Vincent coach Tom Prost likes his team's chances.

Said Prost, "To be honest, I feel pretty confident. Our guys have been there before and they've seen everything. The whole routine is not new to them; they know how it's going to work."

Prost likes the layout of the 6,162-yard course.

"It's a nice course that should play really well," said Prost. "And it only has five sand traps, which is good for us since our course doesn't have a lot of sand."

Cape Central/Jackson

Both Cape Central and Jackson fell short of qualifying for the Class 4A team competition, but will be represented by individual golfers Monday at the Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club.

Silo Ridge is a par-72, 6536 yard course located in Bolivar, Mo.

Cape Central senior Nick Harter, by virtue of a tie for seventh-place at district, will make his first state tournament appearance. Harter, a three-year letterman, has played at the No. 1 or 2 position for the Tigers this season with a 40 average.

Said Cape Central coach Dick Wadlington of Harter, "His chances are as good as anybody's.

"He's been a hard-working young man who's shown steady improvement throughout his career and he is a very good competitor."

Harter demonstrated that competitiveness as a state qualifier in wrestling this past season in the 171-pound division.

Junior Peyton Sims, who garnered a fifth-place at district, will be Jackson's lone entrant.