As Morgantown senior Andy Seman walked off the ninth green at The Pines Country Club on Wednesday evening, he was a bit shocked.
The day before, he had failed to even finish among the top four of his own team as the Mohigans nabbed a team victory in Bridgeport.
Twenty-four hours later, he had earned low medalist — the first of his career in varsity action — with a 38 three-over-par in quad action at his home course.
“I still don’t know what happened,” Seman said. “It feels great.”
Seman said he rebounded after two practice sessions — he spent 30 minutes on the practice green at Bridgeport after Tuesday’s round, and arrived early Wednesday to net some additional time with his putter before teeing off.
“It felt like when I was putting, I wasn’t hitting the ball square,” Seman said. “I really just practiced coming straight back and straight through and hitting my line.”
According to Morgantown coach Nate Tallman, that sort of work ethic is commonplace for Seman.
“He loves the game of golf,” Tallman said. “He’s the type of kid, like he said, he wasn’t satisfied with yesterday’s results, and instead of pouting, he was on that putting green for 30 minutes.”
“It really means a lot to him, and we have high hopes for him.”
The attention to detail paid dividends as Seman breezed through putts during the nine-hole round Wednesday, sealing a one-stroke victory over Trinity Christian senior Mark Spruill.
“I was making some insane putts that I probably really shouldn’t have,” Seman said.
Spruill’s runner-up performance comes a day after he paced the Warriors with an even-par round as they defeated Notre Dame.
“It’s a little bit disappointing to come in runner-up, but props to Andy,” Spruill said.
“I’m extremely pleased with a 39, especially after a 35 yesterday. It shows some consistency going on there, which is always encouraging.”
Trinity coach Mike Baldy, who has watched Spruill’s evolution from a young, inexperienced athlete scoring in the fifties to a state-championship contender, is pleased with Spruill’s consistency.
“It’s exciting because for four years now we’ve been trying to chop down the scores,” he said.
“Now he’s coming in and starting to score consistently in the 30s. I’m just excited for him because he’s worked so hard to be at the point where he can expect himself to be a good golfer. He deserves those scores.”
Morgantown finished first as a team with a total score of 169. In a tight finish, University came within two strokes of their cross-town rivals, taking second overall with a 171. Senior Jackson Harper was the top performer for the Hawks with a 41.
North Marion earned third-place with a 186, while the Warriors finished last with a 203.
Girls’ soccer
Morgantown 7
Wheeling Central 2
The Mohigans were helped by a hat trick from Anna Iquinto, whose three goals pushed MHS to a blowout win. Morgan Miller added two goals herself, while, Alyssa Weaver, and Emma Phares each had one. Goalie Jordan August tallied two saves.
The Mohigans (4-1) will host Wheeling Park at
2 p.m. Saturday.
University 2
Linsly 1
WHEELING — Ari Christiansen scored twice, both assisted by Tristen Bright, as UHS (5-0-1) won its second game in two nights.
Christiansen took a pass from Bright in the eighth minute and fired a shot off of the post and into the net for the lead. However, the Cadets fought back and tied the game just before halftime.
Christiansen and Bright exchanged passes to find a gap in the Linsly back line in the 77th minute, ending with Christiansen slotting the ball past the keeper into the far corner for the decisive goal.
“I was really proud of how the ladies fought all the way to the end,” coach Graham Peace said. “We’ve played six games in 12 nights, and back-to-back games in Wheeling in this heat, and they gave it everything they had. Linsly played some great team defense, but despite being exhausted, we gutted it out. It was a great team effort.”
Lizzy Edwards made three saves in the Hawks’ goal, while UHS fired 26 shots. UHS will host Brooke at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Volleyball
University 3
Robert C. Byrd 2
CLARKSBURG — The Hawks opened their season with a thriller against the Eagles, losing the first set and battling back to take a 3-1 lead. RCB won the fourth set to force a decided fifth set, where UHS won by two (19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 17-15).
Lauren Huggins had 42 assists to lead the team. Ashten Boggs had 19 kills, while Malia Richardson (seven) and Anna Thretheway (8) also recorded kills.
UHS (1-0) will host Parkersburg South at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
JV volleyball
University 2, Robert C. Byrd 0 (25-4, 25-2): Sidney Huntington had six kills to lead the Hawks. Norah Chase had 10 aces while Payton Soulk (five) and Rachel Shockley (four) also recorded aces. Lindsey Wilburn had one block.
