What’s the best way to prevent an eight-shot lead from going away on Day 2 of the FHSAA golf state finals?
How about shooting even better than the first day.
After posting a 7-below-par 281 on Day 1 on the Las Colinas Course at Mission Inn Golf Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, the Circle Christian girls didn’t back down. They shot three strokes better with 278 for a two-day total of 559 (17 under) to seal the title over runner-up FAU’s 564. Windermere Prep finished third with 571.
It’s the second Class 1A girls title for the Centurions with the other coming in 2013. Between that title and this one, they finished runner-up four times, including last year.
The win also marks the 15th time in the last 16 years that an Orlando area private school won the 1A girls title.
FAU shot 275 on the day, and got as close as two shots on the back nine before Circle Christian held them off.
“I wasn’t looking at the (iWanamaker) app for any score updates until later (on the back nine), and I was like, ‘Wow, FAU is having a great day’,” Centurions’ coach Allyson Kotes said. “They were putting pressure on us.”
The golfer who stepped up most during the back stretch was senior Bella Dovhey, the individual champion who shot a 4-under 68 that included four birdies on the back nine.
“Bella said she was going to turn it up and she did,” Kotes said.
Her effort put her in a five-person tie for first place with Peyton Johnson of Florida High, Man (Cynthia) Yang of Montverde Academy, Valentina Guertin of FAU, and Windermere Prep’s Ava Zhang. In the tiebreaker, Dovhey prevailed on the third playoff hole.
The Circle Christian girls golf team shot 281 and 278 for a 17-under-par 559 total to win the FHSAA Class 1A state championship at Mission Inn.
Zhang tied for the lowest girls round of the two days with 67 on Saturday to get into the playoff as a sophomore.
“She played an incredible round and I couldn’t be more proud of how she handled the pressure,” Windermere Prep coach Michael Brunson said.
On the boys side, The First Academy finished runner-up to Benjamin School of Palm Beach County for the second time in three years.
It’s becoming a friendly rivalry despite the distance between the schools.
“The guys are friends with their team and we play in a lot of invites together,” TFA coach Robin Rosado said. “We have a wonderful relationship with them.”
Benjamin finished with a two-day score of 572 after shooting 284 on Saturday, while TFA finished with 577. Charlie Woods, son of PGA legend Tiger Woods, made the difference by shooting 68 on Saturday after a 74 first round.
The First Academy’s Mingbo Jiang shot 68 on both days at Mission Inn to win the FHSAA Class 1A state championship. (File photo, Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)
TFA senior Mingbo Jiang did all he could to keep his team in contention. He shot a second straight round of 68 to win the boys individual title.
“He’s so steady as a player,” Rosado said about the player who will be playing for the University of Southern California next year. “He doesn’t miss fairways and he didn’t miss a putt today. I knew he would do everything he could for the team.”
Jiang is the third individual champion for TFA in eight years, joining John Dubois in 2018 and Mohit Balaji in 2020.
Last year’s individual medalist, Luke Gossett of Circle Christian, was third with 140. Windermere Prep’s Chase Bauer and Montverde’s Byungchan Yoon tied for fourth with 142.
Circle Christian girls, TFA boys lead in 1A state golf tournaments
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
