With sixth place at the Section AA girls golf tournament last year, Allison Cink knocked on the door to the state tournament.
This year she opened the door and walked through.
Held at the New Prague Country Club last Tuesday, yesterday and, because of lightning, again this morning, Cink took fifth place at the section tournament, edging the sixth-place player by three strokes and earning her a first trip to state.
With a score of 80 (eight over par) last Tuesday, Cink was in fourth place, high enough to advance to the second round on Monday, when temperatures were in the 90s and a strong breeze blew across the course.
“The second day was rough with fast greens,” said the senior. “The wind was tough, but putting was the hardest with how fast the greens were.”
But when her foursome was on hole 14, lighting around the course suspended play. In pouring rain, the tournament resumed the next morning, and the greens had slowed substantially.Cink finished the second round with a 93. Advancing to state are the top five individuals after the six from the winning team. The winning score was eight over par through the 36 holes.
Finishing the first round in third place, inside the top four, Cink’s Le Sueur-Henderson/Cleveland/Sibley East team secured the right to advance to the second round on Monday. They held their third spot, but only the top team advances.
The Class AA state tournament will be held on Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan on June 10-11, a course Cink played during the regular season. Girls start at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
“It is a fun but very challenging course, and I am very excited to play it again,” she said.
Back on May 12, Cink won the SCC conference tournament, which was held at the New Ulm Country Club, and was named the conference MVP. Anna Kawatski-Klein was an All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Cink joined the Giants as an eighth grader. Next year, she will be a member of the Marian University (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) “Sabre” golf team.
Above: Greens were moving fast on Monday, Cink said.
