Columbus Academy girls golfers smash records, win 5th straight title

AKRON – Word quickly spread across both Division II state tournaments Oct. 12 at Firestone Country Club that Columbus Academy’s girls were annihilating the rest of the field in pursuit of a fifth consecutive championship.

Onlookers probably were paying more attention to the margin of victory than the Vikings themselves, and that was by stubborn design on the team’s part.

Led by senior Eva Lim’s final-round score of 3-over-par 73 and two-day total of 147, Academy shot a 309 in the second round of the two-day tournament, set an event record with a 615 and defeated runner-up Chagrin Falls by 87 shots, far and away the largest margin of victory in the 34-year history of the tournament regardless of division.

“I don’t even know [how to react to that],” sophomore Ava Hammond said. “Eighty-seven strokes, it just shows how good our team really is at uplifting one another and not focusing on anything else.

“Every team has their own strengths and flaws. We have our own flaws too, but winning by 87 strokes is great.”

Lim finished fifth individually, snapping her two-year streak of state titles. Cincinnati Madeira junior Ellie Hartung won with a 139 and was the only one of 72 golfers to break par either day, having shot a 68 in the opening round Oct. 11.

Hammond finished 13th (155) for Academy, followed by junior Claire Zeiger (14th, 156) and sophomore Niya Chebli (15th, 157).

Zeiger shot 78 both days. Hammond opened with a 77 and shot a 78 in the second round, and Chebli shot an 80 on the final day.

Senior Meera Srini added a 169 to finish in a three-way tie for 23rd place with Lakewood junior Emery Lingo and Coldwater sophomore Alyssa Froning.

Lim had 11 pars and two birdies in the final round.

“I kept myself grounded and didn’t let my emotions get me too worked up,” Lim said. “I might be being too critical of myself, but that’s just how it is.

“It’s good to have high expectations to some degree. It keeps you going. You’re motivated to get going. You care. But overall, we lift each other up and support each other. That’s what makes us special. We do care, we do have that expectation and we work to those goals.”

Lima Central Catholic held the previous record for largest margin of victory, winning Division II by 53 shots in 2020.

Dublin Coffman won Division I by 51 in 2000.

Academy, which led by 42 shots after the first round, also broke its own Division II record for lowest team score (620 in 2023).

“Every day is a different day,” coach Maggie Freytag said. “We just told ourselves to keep doing what we know how to do and just come in and play the game we know how to play, the best we can do. That was our strategy.

“They set a goal each and every year to come to state, at least to be here, and to win it.”

Lingo, a first-time state qualifier, trimmed five shots from the first round thanks to seven pars. Three of those came in her final three holes.

High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at [email protected] and at @dp_dispatch on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Academy girls golfers smash records, win 5th straight title