Larson takes down the top seed

By Eric Morken emorken@echopress.com

There were many matches in the Women’s Division that ended early on Wednesday, but a battle between two Alexandria sisters certainly did not fit that description.

Lauren and Elise Stockmoe, recent members of the Bemidji State University golf team, locked up in a 20-hole match that Elise found a way to win. The next closest contests came by 3-2 finals as Cora Larson pulled off the 16-versus-1-seed upset against Samantha Sommers, and Madison Herzog won by that same 3-2 final.

Fourth-seeded Lauren Contreras, defending-champion Ale Heinen, 10th-seeded Avery O’Donnell, third-seeded Hannah Boraas and sixth-seeded Alayna Eldred also secured their spots in the quarterfinals as the final two foursomes get set to tee off from the first hole starting at 12:36 p.m. on Thursday.

Larson def. Sommers, 3-2

Alexandria’s Cora Larson, a senior in high school this coming fall, is no stranger to pressure situations after helping to lead Alexandria Area High School to a Class AAA Minnesota state championship this past spring.

On Wednesday, Larson shrugged aside any ideas of being an underdog as the 16th seed knocked off top-seeded Samantha Sommers. Sommers took the first lead with a birdie win at No. 3, but Larson methodically took control from there.

She evened the match with a par win at the 5th and took her first lead with another par on 8. Both players birdied the par-5 12th hole. Larson struck again with an important par win at 13 and then added to her lead with a par at 15. That was enough to secure the win after both players parred hole 16.

Herzog def.

Skaar, 3-2

Detroit Lakes native Madison Herzog was the runner-up in this division two years ago, and she’s trying to make another run this year after advancing with a 3-2 win over Leah Skaar.

Herzog grabbed control of this match from the get-go by shooting 3-under on the front nine. Her birdie wins at 1, 6, 7 and 8 gave her a lead that Skaar could never bounce back from despite her best efforts.

Skaar birdied holes 9 and 11, but Herzog was too good on Wednesday. She parred on 13 to regain a 3-hole advantage and shot 3-under on the day before the match ended after 16.

Contreras def.

Westerham, 6-5

Lauren Contreras from Maple Grove used four straight wins on the back nine to put away her 6-5 win over Jenna Westerham.

Contreras’ front nine was highlighted by a birdie win at 5 as she built a 4-up advantage at one point. Westerham responded and won 8 with birdie and 9 with par. That’s as close as she could get as Contreras won holes 10-13 with pars to secure her win.

Elise Stockmoe def. Lauren Stockmoe, 20 holes

The Stockmoe sisters from Alexandria went back and forth on Wednesday before Elise came away with the playoff win in two extra holes against Lauren. Neither player led by more than one hole all day as they exchanged blows throughout their round. Elise shot a 37 on the front nine and was one up after a birdie win on the eighth hole.

Lauren got a birdie win of her own at 10 and a par win at 11 moved her to 1-up.

It was Elise’s turn to counter as her par win at 14 and a bogey win at the par-3 17th gave her a 1-up advantage. Lauren did what she needed to do on 18 as her par forced a playoff, but Elise brushed aside that bogey on 18 to win in extras.

Heinen def. Aisling

O’Connor, 8-6

Defending champion Ale Heinen did not drop a hole on Wednesday in beating Alexandria’s Aisling O’Connor.

Heinen, from Wichita, Kansas, shot a 34 on the front nine. She finished at 5-under par as an eagle on the par-5 12th hole put the match away with six holes to spare.

O’Donnell def.

Bigger, 7-6

Avery O’Donnell won the first three holes against Alexandria native Amanda Bigger and never looked back in a

7-6 win.

O’Donnell shot a 1-under par 36 on the front nine and was 5-up at the turn. Her par win at 11 helped put the match away.

Boraas def. Ciara

O’Connor, 5-4

Hannah Boraas, last year’s Junior 13-15 Division champion, is tough to beat on her home course.

Boraas knocked off a former Alexandria teammate on Wednesday as her fast start helped her beat Ciara O’Connor in a

5-4 final.

Boraas shot a 2-under par 35 on the front nine. That helped her grab a 5-up lead before heading to the back. She added another hole with a par on 11.

O’Connor won her second and final hole with a par on the par-3 13th, but the match ended a hole later as the two players halved 14.

Eldred def.

Monroe, 4-3

Osakis native Alayna Eldred used a flurry near the end of her front nine to grab a lead against Emily Monroe that she never let go of.

The match was all square heading to hole 7 when Eldred’s par win moved her to 1-up. She followed that with back-to-back birdie wins on 8 and 9.

Eldred added another birdie win at the par-5 14th that put the match away with three holes left.