Senior Jaime Anderson didn't go into this year's state golf meet with lofty expectations. After finishing tied for 37th at Bunker Hills a year ago, Anderson only hoped to better her place this season.
And even after ending the first day in fifth place, Anderson stuck with her strategy. As a result, Anderson wound up eighth overall with a 164 and ended her career as an All-State golfer.
"I'm very happy with the way everything turned out," Anderson said. "My goal was just to improve on last year and when I played well the first day I was excited. But I just said the second day I wanted to play well and do what I'm doing and try to not put (place) in my mind to not put too much pressure on myself."
On Tuesday, Anderson scored had seven bogies and 11 pars for an 80, just three strokes back of first place. Anderson came back with a strong showing on the front nine on Wednesday, but shot a 45 on the back nine to finish with an 84. Her 164 total put her eight strokes behind first place.
"Both days you could tell on the practice range she was very relaxed, comfortable and focused," coach Greg Juba said. "We thought she could be top 10, but sometimes Jaime doesn't verbalize her goals very well or tell everyone what her goals are. As coaches we talked about top 10."
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After shooting a 39 on the front nine on day two, Anderson was still shooting for top three. But Anderson shot double bogeys on her first three holes on the back nine and shot a nine on her sixth hole as things appeared to be falling apart.
Still, Anderson was able to keep her poise and birdie the seventh hole, keeping her on pace for her All-State finish.
"You just try not to think why this is happening," Anderson said. "Just keep fighting for it and trust your swing. If you start panicking, everything goes wrong."
Anderson, who is a six-year letter winner for the Wolfpack, will play Junior PGA events this summer and possibly some WMGA events as well. In August she will head to Winona State where she hopes to find as much golfing success as she did at Park.
"She knows she's a good golfer and Winona's going to be excited to have someone like Jaime," Juba said. "She's a quality person, student and golfer."
