Lake Oconee Academy’s golf teams demonstrated once again why they’re among the top programs in Class A Division II by winning their area tournaments at Harbor Club in Greensboro on Monday.
The Titans and Lady Titans now head to play in the Class A Division II state tournament in late May.
The LOA girls grabbed the top four individual spots and ran away with the area title on Monday at Harbor Club with a total of 151. Their top two scores counted toward the team total.
Lili Nelson defended her individual title as the low medalist with a one-under par score of 71. Tianna Chiplock was the team’s runner-up with an 80. Lily Dominy and Kensley Windham also participated, but their rounds didn’t land on the score sheet.
The Lady Titans now set out to defend their Class A Division II state championship, having won multiple titles consecutively. They have also secured seven straight area championships.
LOA girls coach Alan Dodds was proud of his golfers for how they performed at the area tournament, especially Nelson and Chiplock.
“Lili Nelson continues to play fabulous golf. She birdied two of the last three holes to fire a 34 on her second nine. I’m thrilled she defended her individual area title, and I know she’s looking forward to defending her state title next month,” Dodds said. “Tianna Chiplock played the last seven holes in even par to finish runner-up. She is so long off the tee that when she’s putting well, she can shoot some really good scores.”
LOA’s boys are back on top of the area tournament leaderboard after not winning it last season. The Titans shot a team total of 308. Their top four scores counted toward the total.
Poli Medrano won the low-medalist award for the boys tournament, shooting a total of 75. Alden Postlmayr and Eli Tillery both shot a 77, while Tucker Littleton scored a 79. Carson Johnston and Drew Urrutia also participated in the match, but their scores didn’t count.
The Titans finished as the area runner-up and third at state last season. So they’re hungry for another state championship, having won their last in 2023.
LOA boys coach Chris Ingle was excited to witness his golfers finish impressively at the area tournament this week.
“It was great to see the boys team bounce back after barely missing the area championship last year in a playoff,” Ingle said. “What was even more impressive was that the top four scorers this year were freshmen and sophomores. Poli Medrano led all boys this year with a score of 75, securing the Low Medalist title. We cannot wait to see what this team will do over the next several years. They all work incredibly hard and will continue to improve.”