County tournament tees off today at Enterprise

Flowers player makes mark on back nine at district event

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006

by Ted Black

Staff Writer

More than six dozen county golfers will head to the Prince George’s County Golf Championships at Enterprise Country Club in Mitchellville today and the main focus will be the female players.

Charles H. Flowers High School senior Airielle Dawson will head into the county championships as the solid favorite to capture the girls’ title, based on her superb outing last week at the district tournament at Potomac Ridge in Waldorf. Dawson finished with a round of 71, capped by a 32 on the back nine that featured an eagle and four consecutive birdies during one stretch.

Dawson, who played in the state tournament at the University of Maryland last year, will be joined by teammates Dionne West, Nicole West and Jeffrey Napper in this year’s state tournament next Monday and Wednesday. That Flowers quartet shot a team total of 325 at the district tournament, second only to Eleanor Roosevelt High’s 324. Both teams will head to Maryland next Monday for a chance at group and individual titles.

‘‘I was able to play in the state tournament last year,” said Dawson, a Mitchellville resident who lives near Enterprise. ‘‘I was glad to represent Flowers in the state tournament last year. But this year it’s even better because we qualified as a team. I haven’t played there since last year, but I’m going to play there this Saturday and Sunday.”

Oddly enough, Dawson had not played much anywhere prior to her effort in the district tournament. She missed three tournaments with a pulled groin muscle and was actually relegated to crutches for 10 days at one point last month. Dawson hit a grand total of four practice balls at Potomac Ridge and convinced second-year coach Lavelle Green that she was healthy enough to play in the District event that day.

‘‘I just hit four balls with my seven wood,” Dawson said. ‘‘I didn’t feel any pain, but I kept a heat pack wrapped to my leg to keep it warm. It started to hurt after the fourth hole, but then my swing came back. I was just trying to aim for 102 that day. I had two double bogeys on the front nine and still finished with a 39. I was happy about that.”

Dawson barely missed a birdie putt on No. 10, but she quickly made up for that. She had an eagle on the par-4 No. 11 when her approach landed in the cup. She then reeled off four consecutive birdies and finished the round by sinking a 12-foot par putt on No. 18. Her round of 71 was 10 strokes better than Roosevelt junior Caroline Sweet.

Dawson and Sweet have been among the county’s top golfers, male or female this fall. Last month at the Eleanor Roosevelt Invitational at the Bowie Country Club, Dawson and Sweet both finished tied at 70. Sweet had the upper hand after the front nine, but Dawson came in with a 33 on the back nine and finished by recording three birdies on the last five holes.

‘‘Having Caroline and Airielle face each other all season has really helped both girls,” Green said. ‘‘They both enjoy the competition. They’ve become good friends and they have a friendly competition. I think they’ve raised the bar for the other girls in the county. Other counties have always had strong girls golfers, but Caroline and Airielle have set a new standard of excellence for girls in this county.”

Frederick Douglass High golf coach and county golf representative Jim Woods has been impressed with both Dawson and Sweet.

‘‘They’re not only the two best female golfers in the county, they’re the two best golfers in the county,” Woods said. ‘‘It’s not a strong year for our boys, but those two girls are clearly the class of the county. Both of them can really play. Airielle is not only a great golfer, but she’s a first-class kid. Caroline is a great golfer and a very nice kid. It’s a treat seeing them play.”

Bowie High, which had won the previous five district titles, finished third with a team total of 334, well below the 350 needed to be a state qualifier. But since fewer than 21 teams competed in the district tournament, only two teams from the district can advance so the Bulldogs will be spectators this fall. Christian Anderson (82), Robert Wiemann (83), Steven Hyre (84) and Ryan Hurley (85) played well at the district tournament.

In addition to Dawson and Sweet, Flowers juniors Dionne West (87) and Napper (81) and sophomore Nicole West (86) will also represent the Jaguars in both the team and individual competitions at Maryland. Roosevelt’s Alex Mihalik (78) and Matt Zaiger (81) will join Sweet as the Raiders seek individual and team titles today and again at the state tournament next week.

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.