Eagle helps Adelman soar to a second straight Inter-Ac League crown at French Creek

   WEST NANTMEAL – Baldwin senior Megan Adelman has a good vibe when it comes to the par-5 sixth hole at French Golf Club, the Gil Hanse design in the northwest corner of Chester County.

   Adelman defeated Notre Dame’s Kiersten Bodge, then a seventh-grader, on the first hole of a playoff as Adelman survived a shaky drive on the 401-yard sixth hole that is uphill all the way and made a par to claim the title in the Inter-Ac League Championship a year ago.

   A year later, they were at it again Tuesday with Adelman holding a one-shot lead on Bodge, a talented eighth-grader now, heading for the tee at the sixth hole.

   “I was thinking about laying back a little because that bunker comes in right where my drive usually lands,” Adelman said after edging Bodge by a shot over the 2,339-yard, par-35 front nine at French Creek with a 1-over 36 to capture the crown in the Inter-Ac League Championship for the second year in a row. “But I decided to take the driver and try to hit it low and left and see if it would run past the bunker.”

   The strategy worked to perfection and left Adelman with just 130 yards to the pin and a 9-iron in her hands. What happened next was pure magic.

   Adelman’s shot was a laser headed right for the stick. The ball landed four feet past the hole and spun back, taking a peek at the bottom of the cup on its way by before settling five feet from the hole.

   “I could tell from my mom’s reaction behind the green that it was close,” said Adelman, who plays out of Bala Golf Club. “It’s been a good hole for me here.”

   Adelman calmly holed the five-footer for an eagle that dropped her from 3-over for the round to 1-over.

   Not that Bodge was going anywhere. Bodge, who plays out of Overbrook Golf Club, was coming off a huge win, taking the title in the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour’s DuPont Girls Classic over the weekend at DuPont Country Club near Wilmington, Del. by four shots with a 1-under 144 total.

   Bodge wasn’t bad on the sixth hole either. She was just short in two and chipped it close for tap-in birdie to remain two shots behind Adelman at 3-over.

   Bodge holed a 17-foot putt for birdie on the 304-yard seventh hole to pull within a shot of Adelman, who was a little inside of Bodge on the same line, but couldn’t match Bodge’s birdie.

   After both players made pars at the short downhill par-3 eighth hole, Bodge had one more chance to draw even with Adelman with a nifty approach to the 270-yard, par-4 ninth hole that took advantage of the slope and slid six feet by the hole.

   After Adelman’s birdie putt from 25 feet slid by, Bodge pulled her birdie try ever so slightly and it, too, went by the hole on the left side. Adelman’s 1-over 36 gave her a second straight Inter-Ac title while Bodge finished with a solid 2-over 37, six shots ahead of a trio of players who ended up in a tie for third place at 8-over 43.

   The Inter-Ac League hasn’t seen the last of Bodge, but this was a farewell tour for Adelman’s scholastic career.

   Working with swing coach Mark Sheftic, who has moved his base of operation from Lookaway Golf Club to Sunnybrook Golf Club, Adelman has been the Inter-Ac’s best player the last couple of years. She is headed for George Washington, where she plans to study international relations and biomechanical engineering. Problem is, GW does not have a women’s golf program.

   “Maybe I’ll try to make the men’s team, we’ll see,” Adelman said.

   Adelman will defend her title in next week’s Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship at Merion Golf Club’s West Course. But something tells me that won’t be the last we see of Adelman as a competitive golfer.

   Episcopal Academy sophomore Addie Chung headed the group of three players tied for third place with 43s that also included Springside Chestnut Hill senior Evelyn Lauerman and Agnes Irwin senior Leslie Forman.

   Chung was one of six EA girls who qualified for Tuesday’s individual championship as the Churchwomen won the Inter-Ac crown for the fourth time in five years with a dominating 8-0 run through this spring’s dual-match campaign.

   After a year as an assistant to longtime head coach Kim Farrell, Jenna Longen took over as EA’s head coach this spring. Farrell left her successor plenty of talent with which to work.

   Sophomore Clarissa Leung didn’t play Tuesday because an advanced placement test took precedence, which is how things work in the Inter-Ac. Sophomore Carter Yearley finished a shot behind the trio tied for third place with a solid 44 that left her alone in sixth place.

   Sophomore Elizabeth Hershey was a shot behind Yearley with a 47 that left her in the group tied for eighth place, senior Pepper Claytor finished in a tie for 10^th place with a 48 and sophomore Libby Fleisher struggled a little while ending up in 15^th place.

   “Carter had the best scoring average and Clarissa had the low match score of the season,” said Longen. “But Addie and Libby took turns leading us, too. Everybody pushed each other, which made it easy for me as the coach.”

   It was a strong showing for Agnes Irwin Tuesday at French Creek as well as the Owls had five players in the field.

   In addition to Forman getting a share of third place with a 43, senior Lilly Press finished alone in seventh with a 46, senior Cici Curran and freshman Makayla Stone joined EA’s Claytor in the trio tied for 10^th place with 48s and senior Kathryn Chang finished in a tie for 13^th with a 49.

   Stone played in the lead group along with Adelman and Bodge and had just one bad hole. The kid certainly has game.

   Notre Dame senior May Civitella joined EA’s Hershey in the tie for eighth place with a 47 and the Irish’s Ciara Kelly, a sophomore, shared 13^th with Agnes Irwin’s Chang with a 49.