Notre Dame built behemoth, now return gunning for another girls golf state title

Members of the Notre Dame girls golf team, from left to right, Olivia Williams, Haley Taylor, Allison Bray, Sarah Bell and Taryn Overstreet, pose for a photo last Wednesday at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau. The Bulldogs won the Class 1 state title last season by 40 strokes, as three golfers finished in the top six.

Laura Simon

The Notre Dame girls golf team won't have the luxury of taking anyone by surprise in 2017, but it's going to take a lot to dethrone these champions.

A year removed from winning the first state title in program history, the Bulldogs return their top five players, including defending state champion Sarah Bell.

Coach Mark Moore said the team's success last season has been met with a renewed enthusiasm, as eight new players showed up for tryouts.

And why not? The Bulldogs weren't just good enough in 2016 -- they were dominant, winning every match and tournament they competed in before claiming the Class 1 crown by a 40-stroke margin.

Their team score at state was 26 strokes better than any other school in Missouri, regardless of classification.

Allison Bray poses for a photo last Wednesday.

Laura Simon

"They want to keep that streak going for another year, so they're all motivated to get that done," Moore said. "We've had four of our top girls who have won a tournament at some point this summer.

"They're all motivated and have practiced a lot of golf this summer. They're all geared up to defend their title and defend the unbeaten streak."

Bell, the 2017 Semoball Awards Golfer of the Year, headlines Notre Dame's seven returning players and is one of four seniors with state tournament experience. Allison Bray, Haley Taylor and Olivia Williams are the other three seniors, while Taryn Overstreet represents the team's lone returning sophomore. Juniors Addie Grim and Sarah Smith were also on last year's squad.

After carding a two-day score of 146 to post an eight-shot victory at last year's state tournament, Bell has spent the summer refining her game. Among her accomplishments was a ninth-place finish in July at an American Junior Golf Association tournament in Eureka, Missouri.

Still, nothing has changed in regards to what separates Bell from the rest of her peers -- she possesses a composure that, in many ways, is unparalleled at the high school level.

"She's as calm as it gets out there on the golf course," Moore said about Bell, who has verbally committed to playing college golf at Oral Roberts. "Whenever I see her, she has the same expression, no matter if she's doing good or bad. ... You see frustration with certain players in their eyes when they hit bad shots, and I don't see that at all in Sarah Bell. She walks off the green after making a bogey the same way she walks off the green after making a birdie. It's sort of the same expression. It's business as usual."

Sarah Bell poses for a photo last Wednesday.

Laura Simon

Bell has spent her busy summer competing in tournaments around the state. After a slow start, her performance steadily picked up during the middle of the season.

With shorter yardages during the fall, Bell mainly focused the summer season on improving her short game.

"She's started to become a little more of a leader this year, and it's good to see," Moore said. "She's been taking charge with some of the younger ones, which is really nice.

"I think she wants to defend that title. I think her biggest competition is going to be the people standing next to her. It'll be interesting from that standpoint."

Bray returns after a third-place finish at last year's state tournament. In July, she enjoyed her biggest achievement of the summer when she earned honors as the top junior golfer (13th overall) at the Missouri Women's Amateur Championship in Glendale.

"She's had a good summer. ... She's hitting the ball great -- long and straight," Moore said about Bray. "It's going to be a fun battle watching her and Sarah kind of duke it out. They're going to be each other's biggest competitor this year and probably each other's biggest supporter, too."

Bray is already committed to playing collegiately at Missouri State. She said she's been working heavily on getting more consistency with her bad shots, while her short game has also been a point of emphasis.

"That's where you score. A hundred yards and in -- that's where you need to always work," Bray said. "If you hit into trouble, your short game can always save you."

Perhaps the most intriguing player to watch will be Overstreet, who, as a freshman, placed sixth at last year's state tournament.

"She's done really, really well," Bell said. "She's a great No. 3 player. She's probably the one who really helped the team the most, I think, because if we didn't have a No. 3 like her, I don't think we could've gone undefeated."

In early July, Overstreet and Bell finished tied for 12th at a United States Golf Association Girls Junior Qualifier tournament in St. Louis.

Moore believes the sophomore is maturing in a way that reflects the teammates around her.

"She plays like she's one of the older girls, and she's not intimidated by anything," Moore said. "She has a great mentality. She's always friendly and smiling. ... That's the thing about these girls -- they don't let the bad shots get them. They don't hit a ton of bad shots, but when they do, they don't let it get to them. They just keep plugging away, and that's what separates them from these other girls."

For a team that went unbeaten in 2016, the Bulldogs have found much of their growth from within.

With Bell, Bray and Overstreet splitting medalist honors throughout last year, inner-competition proved to only strengthen the core.

"I think it helps keep them focused, not that they need a lot of help with that," Moore said. "A lot of the programs we play aren't as experienced. The challenge is not against them -- sometimes it's on your own team with these girls. I think that helps our team that they split some."

In his second year at the helm, Moore is grateful for the team he inherited -- he finds it funny that the smartest coaching decision he ever made was simply saying "Yes," when asked if he wanted the girls golf job.

Moore credits assistant coach Emily Obergoenner for much of the team's individual tutelage. A 2008 graduate of Notre Dame, Obergoenner played golf in high school before the girls program ever came into existence.

"Not only do I have three of the best golfers in the state, I've got the best assistant coach in the state," Moore said about Obergoenner, who played collegiately at Missouri State. "I call her my co-head coach. ... She runs a lot of the drills and stuff because she knows what's going on because she played in college and understands a lot of the training. She pretty much has free reign to do whatever she wants and pipes in."

For a program that had previously never taken a full team to the state tournament, Notre Dame will assume a new role heading into 2017.

The Bulldogs' momentum has them positioned on every team's radar, but it remains to be seen whether or not there's a team in Missouri that can stop them.

"Notre Dame golf definitely isn't overlooked anymore," Bray said. "I feel like we haven't really been pushed to the side or anything, but I feel like people are looking at us now because we're state champs.

"All of us returning is a big part of it."