Fox Chapel girls golf carries unbeaten record into playoffs

By: Michael Love
Sunday, October 6, 2019 | 4:51 PM

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The Fox Chapel girls golf team produced a 15-0 record in the regular season and defended its Section 4-AAA championship.

The Foxes now turn their attention to postseason opportunities. They are one of nine hoping to capture gold as the WPIAL Class AAA team championships begin Monday with the semifinal tournament at Pleasant Valley Golf Course in Connellsville.

“We are looking forward to the challenge,” Fox Chapel coach John Broderick said.

The top four from the field that includes Section 4 runner up Butler as well as defending WPIAL champion North Allegheny, Blackhawk, Franklin Regional, Mars, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair will advance to Thursday’s finals at Cedarbrook Red Golf Course.

Fox Chapel owns dual-match victories over Butler (twice), North Allegheny, Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford.

Monday’s semifinal round of 18 holes is set to begin at 9 a.m. As is the case in regular-season matches, each team can enter up to five golfers, with the top four individual scores counting towards the team score.

Fox Chapel is seeking its first WPIAL team title since 2010.

It just missed last year’s finals, finishing fifth with a team total of 367, seven strokes behind finalist Penn-Trafford.

North Allegheny dominated the finals at Cedarbrook, winning by 38 strokes over runner-up Upper St. Clair.

The Foxes will do battle with an expected lineup of Nina Busch, Erin Drahnak, Grace Rygelski, Emily Scheffler and Kyrie Nestel.

Broderick said Nestel has been inserted into the lineup in place of Liz Conroy, who is not able to play because of injury.

Conroy, Broderick added, is a tough loss because she counted in nearly 75 percent of the team’s matches during the regular season.

Busch and Drahnak come in the team tournament with added momentum after both fared well at the WPIAL individual finals last Wednesday at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley.

Busch registered a runner-up finish to North Allegheny’s Isabella Walter. After the two golfers tied in regulation at 4-over (76), Walter defeated Busch on the second playoff hole.

Drahnak just missed automatically advancing to the PIAA Western Regional as she placed eighth (83). She is the first alternate.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Fox Chapel