Lynnville-Sully’s Van Maanen shoots personal-best round on final day of Class 1A state

MARSHALLTOWN — Ready to go to work on her golf game this summer is Lynnville-Sully junior Tessa Van Maanen. The reason?

Van Maanen put together her best 18-hole round of golf on Wednesday in the final round of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Class 1A State Golf Tournament. She shot nine-hole rounds of 48 and 42 to finish with a 90.

Van Maanen, who led the Hawk girls’ golf team all spring, finished her season in 32nd place at state. It was her first state golf tournament played at American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown.

“I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great experience, and I did better than I expected,” Van Maanen said after Wednesday’s competition and her 192 total. “I’m excited to work this summer to keep improving and hope to get back to state next year.”

“Tessa played very well. Yesterday was hot and there was a rain delay which impacted a lot of players,” Lynnville-Sully co-head coach Jennifer Kramer said.

“Today Tessa came out confident in knowledge and skill of the game and shot her personal best on nine holes for a 42.”

Van Maanen and the rest of the 1A golfers had to wait out a two-hour weather delay on Tuesday. She shot a 102 (53-49) and sat tied for 51st after the first day.

“It was kind of rough going back out after the two hours and get back into golfing, but I came back from it,” Van Maanen said.

On Wednesday, she had eight pars and four bogeys in her round of 90.

“I improved on my putting after the first day. I made sure I was getting the line set up better and focusing more on the speed of the ball,” Van Maanen said. “Also I was trying not to always power the ball as much when I was hitting off the tee.”

Kramer said Van Maanen struggled with putting and her drives on Tuesday. She said Van Maanen did not hit one green in regulation but her short game was very good and saved her as was able to get up and down well.

“Today, Tessa played a much different game. She made a few adjustments in her stance and swing on her drives,” Kramer said. “She hit seven greens in regulation and had three pars in a row. She played smart golf.”

Casey Noble of New London was the Class 1A individual champion with a two-day total of 153. Courtney Olson of Clayton Ridge and Jaden Schweinefus of South Winneshiek each shot a 159 to finish second and third.

Iowa Valley and New London finished with a team total of 740. Iowa Valley won the team title on a tiebreaker. BCLUW was third at 760.

“It was tough to play 36 holes. I was tired after this second day but I really enjoyed being at state,” Van Maanen said.

Kramer said Van Maanen has set the bar high for herself next year. She said Van Maanen represented Lynnville-Sully well all season and at the state meet.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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