En route to Friday’s 17-team Hutchinson Invitational, the van carrying the Austin boys’ golf team broke down, forcing the team to wait for headquarters in Austin to dispatch another van.

Saturday, May 13, 2000

En route to Friday’s 17-team Hutchinson Invitational, the van carrying the Austin boys’ golf team broke down, forcing the team to wait for headquarters in Austin to dispatch another van.

"We were supposed to tee-off at 1 p.m., but they held the tournament up for us," said Coach Claudia Pilot. "We got there at 1:20, got out of the van and went straight to the first tee."

From there, the Packers proceeded to put four golfers among the nine that managed sub-80 scores in the 40 mph winds.

That road-warrior performance earned Austin a win with a score of 318.

"To shoot the score they did under the pressure and stress they were under is amazing," Pilot said of her Packers, who capped a week that cemented Austin as one of the most dangerous golf teams in the state.

In competition against 40 teams since Monday – one Big Nine triangular, two 12-team invites, and Friday’s 17-team tournament – Austin has lost to a single team, Wayzata, which finished three strokes ahead of Austin at Monday’s Eden Prairie Invitational.

"I would say we’ve had a good week," said Pilot, who praised senior Chris Larson, after he took second place for the second straight tournament with Friday’s score of 77.

Adam Plotts finished in a tie for fourth at 78, and Adam Plotts and David Lorenzen both shot 79, good for a sixth-place tie.

"David is really starting to believe he can score in the 70s," Pilot said.

Austin’s 313 was five strokes better than runner-up Eastview. Wayzata finished third with 324, followed by Chaska and Hutchinson in a tie at 326 that rounded out the top five.

Next up for red-hot Austin is Monday’s triangular with Faribault and Mayo at the Faribo Country Club at 3:30 p.m.

Austin girls edge Albert Lea

The Austin girls’ golf team won in Albert Lea on Friday.

The teams, playing in a non-Big Nine event, went nine holes with the Packers finishing with an eight-stroke victory, 192 to 198.

As is becoming usual, Austin’s Brittney Bertilson won medalist honors with a 42, followed by Alison Stutzman’s 47, Noelle Wiebelhaus’ 50, Claire Johnson’s 53, and Janelle Morrison’s 54.

The Packers improved to 3-5 (2-5 in the Big Nine)

This week, the Austin girls join the boys’ team in preparing for Saturday’s Big Nine tournaments. The boys are in Rochester at Northern Hills; the girls in Mankato at Northern Links. Both start at 10 a.m.