Rochelle freshman shoots 39 as Hubs fall to Pirates 147-180

ROCHELLE — Freshman Alex Dyer fired a season-best 3-over-par 39 to lead the Rochelle Hub varsity golf team during Tuesday’s Interstate 8 Conference match against the Ottawa Pirates.

Dyer is one of three underclassmen who have been regular varsity starters for the Hubs this fall. Sophomore Ian Metzger finished with a nine-hole round of 41 on Tuesday, while freshman Owen Carmichael carded a 51 as the Pirates defeated the Hubs 147-180. Ottawa’s Colt Bryson earned medalist honors with a 1-under-par 35 and Drake Kaufman inked an even-par 36.

“Alex’s really competitive and he’s played sports for most of his life,” head coach Glen Mehrings said. “ He doesn’t want to lose and he knows he can come back from a bad shot like most good players. Alex has the instinct to fight through adversity. He had some trouble with a loose tee shot on the first hole, but he fought back and chipped the ball in to save his score. The ceiling on him is really high and it’s great that he has a friend like Ian to play with and compete with.”

Ottawa saw five players shoot in the 30s on Tuesday, with Seth Cooper and Chandler Creedon each notching scores of 38 while Alex Billings had a 39 and Jacob Armstrong totaled a 42. While the Hubs received low scores from their underclassmen, Rochelle had two seniors step up as first-year golfers on the varsity team. Owen Messer was the third-lowest scorer with a 49, while Obie Nava recorded a 51 during the nine-hole match at Fairways Golf Course in Rochelle.

“Ian and Alex have been carrying us in every match and they enjoy the pressure of knowing they need to shoot a low score in order for us to win,” Mehrings said. “It’s great to see our young players take responsibility during practice and on their own time because their success comes from their hard work. Owen stepped up for us and Obie hit the ball really well. They just need to get more comfortable by playing more matches. We’re hoping to find our top six players soon.”

Senior Cale Workman carded a 63 to round out the varsity lineup for the Hubs (1-7, 0-3 Interstate 8) on Tuesday evening. Rochelle will travel north for the E-Rab Invitational at Aldeen on Saturday before returning home for a nonconference match against Mendota on Monday. Senior Elise Horner led the JV team with a 53 on Tuesday, while seniors Parker Lenkaitis and Alex McBride each followed with 57 and senior Haley Bozinovich totaled a 66 for her round.

“We’ve been shooting in the 175-to-180 range and we’d like to be more competitive,” Mehrings said, “We’d like to shoot below the 170s and I think we’re capable of doing that by regionals… We had David Wanner come around as a first-year senior last season and he surprised us by qualifying for sectionals. It takes a while for our new players to be comfortable in a competitive format and we need our third, fourth, fifth and sixth players to keep pushing because they will make strides like David, who went from shooting in the 100s to the low 90s consistently.”