Stingle's 72 leads Dover golf team to sectional title

Dover’s boys golf team put together a solid day in the Div. I sectional tournament at Eagle Sticks Golf Course in Zanesville on Sept. 24. The Tornadoes shot a 317 on the 6,500-yard, par-70 course to finish seven shots clear of runner-up New Philadelphia.

The district title earned Dover one of three team berths in the Division I district tourney to be held Monday, Oct. 6 at Lancaster Golf Club in the Columbus area.

For Dover, Gauge Stingle led the way with a 72, which left him two shots shy of medalist honors. Steubenville’s Christopher Elliot took the top prize with a 70.

Austin Levengood shot 77 for Dover to place fourth. Kaden Gerber’s 82 landed him tied for eighth, while Carton Peoples shot 86 to tie for 13th and complete the Tornadoes’ scorers. Cole Griesen shot 91 to place 19th among the 25 players in the field.

Dover, New Philadelphia and third-place Steubenville, along with a trio of individual qualifiers advanced to play in the Central District tournament with a berth in the state tournament at Akron’s Firestone Country Club on the line.

Girls golf

The Tornadoes flirted with a team berth in the Central Div. I Sectional tournament but fell seven strokes shy at Eagle Sticks Golf Club in Zanesville on Sept. 22. 

Dover was going to be represented in the district event, however. Sophia Wicker’s 86, which landed her in eighth place in the sectional tourney, earned her one of three individual district berths. 

Tatum Tylke shot 89 for Dover, finishing 13th. Livie Hamilton finished 14th with a 93. Sydney McCabe shot 108 to come in 32nd and Rebakah Fockler placed 40th with a 125.

Wicker was set to tee it up on Thursday, Oct. 2 with a chance to advance to the state tournament. Three teams and three individuals from non-qualifying teams advanced to compete in Lancaster the Lancaster District, where berths in the state tournament were on the line. In order to advance to the Div. I state tournament, to be held Oct. 12-13 at prestigious Firestone Country Club’s North Course in Akron, Wicker needed to be the top individual in the field on a non-qualifying team, and just one team and five players overall will qualify for state.

Girls tennis

Dover’s girls tennis team was set to compete this week in the Canton-Jackson Park Sectional, which featured a 17-team field from the Akron, Canton and Youngstown areas, along with Tuscarawas County. 

Tornadoes’ singles player Alaina Amstrong was paired with Payton Konnerth of Boardman; Carly Dumermuth was to take on Niya Rai of Akron North, while Sophia Huffman had a play-in match against Barberton’s Jackie Gouamba. 

On the doubles courts, Kyra Immel and Kacey Ireland were to face a pair from Lake in the first round, with Shelby Watson and Hanna Bauer taking on a pair from Barberton in the second round after a bye. Action was to begin on Tuesday and wrap up Saturday. Top qualifiers will advance to district play, which will be held Oct. 9 and 11 at Springside Athletic Club in Akron.

Volleyball

Needing a win to keep pace in the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings, the Tornadoes came up huge on Sept. 25, beating first-place Wooster in four sets to keep at least a share of the conference title in sight. 

The Tornadoes, whose victory over the Generals was their fifth in a row, lifted their overall record to 14-2 and their OCC mark to 9-1, one-half game behind Wooster, which had played on extra match. The Tornadoes for the most part dominated the Generals, winning 25-13, 25-13, 17-25 and 25-20. Senior Caroline Hanner paced the attack with 14 kills. Senior Hailey Huecher, junior Ali Hupp and senior Jenna Molk added nine each.

Senior Kelsey Kazelman had a fantastic night on the service line, dealing a whopping nine access among 19 serves. The Tornadoes had 21 aces in all. Senior Quinsey Werntz led at the net with four blocks; Molk and Kuecher added three apiece. Werntz and Hanner led the way with 20 digs each and Werntz had 35 assists. Beginning on Tuesday night at Mansfield, the Tornadoes had four OCC contests remaining.