Sophomore Mikala Mawhorter will be a key piece to Wawasee’s success in 2013. (Photo by Nick Goralczyk)

SYRACUSE – It is a well known saying in sports that tying is “like kissing your sister.” Most athletes tend to agree that ending any competition in a tie will leave a bad taste in their mouths. No winner, no loser, just frustration. Now,take that frustration and multiply it by 389 and you might be close to the level of disappointment felt by last year’s Lady Warrior golf team.

Wawasee’s 2012 season ended in the sectional after the team turned in a score of 389, tied with Northern Lakes Conference foe Plymouth for the third and final ticket to the regional match. Plymouth would end up winning the tie-breaker with the lower fifth-player score, advancing to the regional and sending Wawasee home.

With the first official practice of 2013 set for Friday morning, third-year head coach Steve Coverstone has put 2012 behind him and is excited to get back to work with basically the same team he that was left with a broken heart after last year’s sectional.

“We are young, there’s no doubt about it. We have a lot of talent back but we still have to get better this season,” stated Coverstone.

The Warriors will have more green on their roster than on their shirts this year as the team will have no seniors despite having five returning letter winners. The junior, sophomore and freshmen classes will field three players each.

Of those five experienced returnees, sophomore Mikala Mawhorter made the deepest postseason run after she advanced to the regional as an individual. While the young gun’s rookie year would end in the regional round, Mawhorter made it clear that she wants to make it back to that stage. The sophomore is just hoping she will have some company with her this time.

“I want to go to the regional as a team and not just as an individual this year. I think that would be a good goal for us to set right now. We have a young team but that did not hold us back last year,” stated Mawhorter.

As serious as the sophomore is about her golf game, she could not help but to have a little fun in her interview saying that she had one more target to shoot for this season.

“My other goal is to not tie with Plymouth,” Mawhorter said smiling.

If Wawasee does intend on golfing together at regional, the ladies will need everyone to contribute, especially returning captain Elizabeth Jackson, a junior. Jackson was awarded All-NLC Honorable Mention her sophomore season and should be a major force again this year for Wawasee. The junior will perhaps be the biggest factor in returning the Warriors to the regional this year.

Outside of Jackson and Mawhorter, the rest of the projected roster looks to be a revolving door.

“There are a few girls that I expect to step up and earn our three and four spots but nothing is set in stone and scores change from week to week. Consistency is one of the biggest things that we will need from all of our girls this year. Alex (Goralczyk) was our only senior last year and she was really the only consistent golfer we had towards the end of the season. Trying to replace that score will be difficult, somebody has to step up,” said Coverstone.

While Coverstone expects to see a select few rise to the challenge of being an everyday varsity golfer, do not be surprised to see the coach use a rotation of the remaining girls in his lineups from match-to-match.

Returning letter winners Kamryn Foy, Courtney McDaniel and Kylee Rostochak along with junior Megan Goralczyk, should have the inside track to start varsity just based on last year’s experience, but Coverstone made a point to not commit any names to either roster before having the team’s first practice.

Regardless of who starts where, everyone will have to be ready to play. The ladies first match of the 2013 campaign is Tuesday August 6, just four days after the first practice. The Warriors will host Columbia City in the opener at Maxwelton GC in Syracuse. While Coverstone and the Warriors call Maxwelton their home, the team’s marquee event will take place on the other side of town as the ladies will host their first annual Wawasee Invitational at South Shore GC on August 27.

But no matter where Wawasee tees off this year, Coverstone expects the season to be a success,”We have the talent, we just have to use it. We will still need girls to step up this year, but really think we will have a fun season. I can’t sit here and say that we will win conference or even who will be on our varsity roster but I know that we will be a good team.”