Golf takes third

The Douglas High girls' golf team took third place for the second time this season, shooting a 532 at Rosewood Lakes Golf Course and coming in behind Reno and Carson respectively Tuesday afternoon.

Heather Henderson shot a 93 to tie for fourth overall and Michele Nikkels shot a 98 to tie for 10th.

"The girls played extremely well despite windy conditions," Douglas coach Steve Gustafson said. "Michele posted a strong back nine score of 44 after struggling on the front.

"Heather struggled a bit from the fairway, otherwise she would have easily scored in the 80s."

Douglas' score was rounded out by Katie Gettman (107), Katelyn Lee (110) and Rachel Merino (124).

"Katelyn Lee continues to improve week by week," Gustafson said. "She has lowered her average score by 30 strokes over the past year.

"Despite having only four clubs in her bag, Rachel Merino continues to show improvement in all aspects of her game."

Douglas has two Sierra League matches left, one at Washoe and one at South Tahoe.

"The girls are determined to finish the season strong," Gustafson said. "Over the past two weeks, they realized they can beat other teams.

"Now they want to go out and do it."

The Tigers are now tied for third in the Sierra League with South Tahoe and have mathematically secured a spot in the regional tournament Oct. 9 and 10 at Wolf Run Golf Club in Reno.

Gustafson had led the Tigers to a team playoff berth in each of his first two years as head coach of the program.

-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.