Douglas girls golf second at 4A state

The seniors of Douglas High School girls golf wrapped up their prep careers with four years of hardware.

For the second year in a row, Douglas was the Class 4A state runner-up, finishing the last tournament of the season only behind Bishop Manogue.

The Tigers finished the two-day tournament with a score of 706 while the Miners tallied a winning score of 632.

Douglas gained 28 strokes on the Miners in the state tournament compared to the regional tournament two weeks ago.

Douglas will graduate four seniors from its five-person squad, two of whom have been a part of a four-year stretch that will be tough to replicate.

Giana Zinke and Madison Frisby won two state titles in Class 3A in their freshman and sophomore seasons before the Tigers were bumped up to 4A.

It didn’t change much, as Douglas finished in second place at state each of the last two seasons, trailing only Manogue.

“We have two state titles and two runner-ups and that’s not easy to do. I think the runner-ups prove that we probably belonged in this league the whole time,” said Zinke. “The rest of our team has worked themselves to an awesome spot and we can rely on them.”

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Zinke, who won the 3A state individual title at Genoa Lakes as a sophomore, said playing at home to finish off her prep golf career allowed her to reminisce over four years in a Tiger jersey.

The outgoing senior put together back-to-back rounds of 74 to finish in second place with a 148, behind only Bishop Manogue’s Ella Rawson (145).

Zinke got off to a hot start Monday, going three under through her first five holes, before playing a steadier round Tuesday.

“Playing on the home course was definitely super-helpful. I started off really hot (Monday). Today, I was way more consistent,” said Zinke.

Frisby shot an 83 Monday but turned around with the third-best round of any golfer Tuesday, tallying a 77.

Her two-day score of 160 resulted in a sixth-place finish.

“I started off kind of struggling the first day. I wasn’t upset with it, but I knew I could do better. Today (Tuesday), I came out and shot 40 on the front and made birdie on the last hole,” said Frisby.

Fellow senior Kailynn Dollar put together a two-day score of 95-103–198 to finish tied for 18^th.  Adrianna Nuno, who is also a senior, shot a 104-98–202 to take 21^st.

“It was definitely fun to end our senior year like this. I think my putting and short game wasn’t that good the first day,” said Nuno. “I kind of refocused myself and shot better the second day.”

The lone sophomore on the team, Morgan Gooch, was just off Nuno’s pace, taking 23^rd with a score of 106-101–207.

Gooch said after the round she was proud of how she finished on the second day.

Two years of runner-up finishes at 4A only proved to the Tigers — and the rest of the state — that their team success early on was no fluke.  

“When we got put in this division our junior years, I don’t think people expected us to do this well. We’ve had to work for it and it wasn’t just given to us,” said Frisby.

(Douglas High’s Giana Zinke scans the line of a putt Monday during the opening round of the 4A girls golf state tournament at Genoa Lakes. Zinke finished in second place with a two-day score of 74-74–148. / Courtesy Faith Photography NV)