Orrville senior brings prep golf career to dream finish

It’s been quite a journey for Abby Ankenman.

From picking up the sport of golf as a freshman to making a decision in her junior year to put even more of her time into it, the Orrville senior has poured everything she has into the game.

The reward for Ankenman was this past weekend as she stood on the No. 1 tee box at Ohio State’s Gray Course ready to compete in the OHSAA Division II State Championships.

And even days after wrapping her up first trip to state — and the first by a Red Rider since the 1989 season — Ankenman is still awestruck about how her prep career came to a close.

“To me it was unreal,” said the 18-year-old, who finished the state tournament tied for 25th overall with a two-day 175. “I mean it’s always one of those things that you say, but when I actually achieved and I was there, I was like ‘Oh my Gosh, I’m one of 72 girls who made it to state.’

“It was just mind-blowing that I was able to make it. It was an honor. Just to compete and be with those girls was just an all-time dream.”

Ankenman, however, didn’t know if that dream of making it to Columbus would become a reality after some battling with her consistency on the course midway through the season.

But after some talks with Orrville coach Chuck Davis and focusing on what she could control, she turned it around.

In the Red Riders’ final dual match, Ankenman fired a 38 from the white tees at The Elms Golf Course, sparking what would be a postseason to remember.

I was really worried because one of my goals was to make it to state,” she said. “After that Tuslaw match, everything just sparked. Everything came together. And after sectionals I felt really confident, so when I stepped onto the course at districts, I was so confident and eager to get out there.”

From there Ankenman took medalist honors at The Pines Sectional before winning a one-hole playoff against United’s Mati Zines to finish first overall at the Good Park District and, more importantly, earn her first state berth.

Was there pressure? You bet.

But she was ready for it all.

“On top of having to do school work, golf every day, that pressure was there,” Ankenman said. “Everyone kept asking me what I was going to shoot and what I was going to place; I had no idea I was going to get first in both of those tournaments. I just wanted to move on.”

The result was that opportunity to compete among the state’s best — something that started when she picked up the sport before her ninth-grade year.

Ankenman, who also plays basketball for the school and played softball until this past spring, embraced it all: the challenge of playing on an all-boys team at Orrville, the grind of playing in a number of offseason tournaments and battling the ups and downs of a sport that can be unforgiving at times.

While she’s unsure exactly where her golf journey will continue at the next level, Ankenman is currently considering a number of out-of-state schools to continue her career.

And Ankenman wouldn’t change anything of what she went through to get where she is today.

“I loved playing on the boys team,” said Ankenman, who plans on majoring in sports management. “I really felt like that gave me an advantage over some of the other girls. But my junior year, after I made it to districts, I was like ‘I can compete at a high level and I want to do this in college.’

“I mean you can play this your whole life, and that year is when I decided that I wanted to do this. It’s been a lot of fun.”