Findlay girls golf brings back more experience

This year's Findlay High girls golf team has what it didn't have a lot of last year, things like varsity experience and big-match confidence.Oh, and in most cases, something as basic as a drivers license.Findlay High coach Laura Metz fielded an exceptionally young team in 2023 with one junior, one sophomore and four freshmen on the varsity roster. Despite that inexperience, the Trojans performed rather well, placing third in the Buckeye Division of the Northern Lakes League and finishing fourth in the OHSAA sectional and eighth in the district tournaments.With her entire roster back, Metz is looking for even better things in 2024. And, she's already seen positive results, especially in the Trojan Invitational where Findlay (365) placed a close second to Anthony Wayne (361) and finished ahead of several of the NLL schools (Sylvania Southview, Napoleon, Sylvania Northview, Perrysburg, Springfield, Bowling Green) that the Trojans will be facing in league play this season."I've been really pleased with the girls playing so far this season," Metz said."It's been an exciting start for the team, the girls are really enjoying bringing home some hardware from our initial tournaments."I knew we'd be better this year with more experience, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how competitive we were with Anthony Wayne and Perrysburg! We have a solid chance of performing very well in the NLL this year."Ava Metz is the senior veteran on the squad. Metz carded an 89 in the 2023 NLL tournament in earning first team all-conference honors, and has been the Trojans' No. 1 golfer this fall.Natalie Gutman, a three-sport athlete for Findlay High, returns for her junior season, along with sophomores Lainey Ricker, Abby Kasselmann and Josey Weihrauch.The sixth member of last year's team – Rosalynn Mayle – has swapped her golf clubs for a tennis racket this fall. Mayle missed most of last season due to an injury, forcing Laura Metz to go with a skeleton five-player rotation in every match and tournament. But it did create considerable in-match experience for Findlay's young golfers.The team also got a boost with the addition of Claire White, who is making an immediate impact as a freshman."Claire has been playing PGA Junior League, FAGA, and Middle School Golf through Findlay Country Club," Laura Metz said."She has been scoring consistently in the mid to high 90s for us, and I see that number coming down with more experience."The team includes another freshman – Lydia Cleland – as well as senior Amirah El Roz, who played JV last year, but may see a few varsity matches."2024 ROSTERSENIORS: Ava Metz, Amirah El Roz. JUNIORS: Natalie Gutman. SOPHOMORES: Lainey Ricker, Abby Kasselmann, Josey Weihrauch. FRESHMEN: Claire White, Lydia Cleland. FINDLAY GIRLS GOLF SCHEDULEAug. 3 – Eagle Invitational, at South Toledo Golf ClubAug. 5 – Lady Trojan Invitational at Sycamore SpringsAug. 6 – Riverdale Pirate InvitationalAug. 8 – Colonial InvitationalAug. 12 – George Valentine InvitationalAug. 14 – Lady Knights Invitational at Fostoria Country ClubAug. 19 – Magnificat Invitational at Avon Oaks Country ClubAug. 22 – Findlay, Sylvania Southview at Findlay Country ClubAug. 25 – New Albany Co-Ed TournamentAug. 26 – Findlay, Van Buren at Sycamore SpringsAug. 27 – Findlay at Anthony WayneSept. 3 – Findlay, Toledo Whitmer at Sycamore SpringsSept. 5 – Findlay, Perrysburg at Belmont Country ClubSept. 9 – Findlay, Archbold at Sycamore SpringsSept. 10 – Findlay, Sylvania Northview at Sycamore SpringsSept. 17 – NLL Championship, TBD