Sisters Keep Gold in the Family, Steal the Show at WPIAL Girls Golf Championships

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, October 5, 2010 | 12:00 AM

It was a pair of sisters claiming gold at the WPIAL Division I and II Girls Individual Golf Championships at the Club at Nevillewood on Tuesday. In D-I, Katterina Luttner of Fox Chapel edged her two-time defending champion sister Nadia by one stroke, while in D-II, Emily Rohanna of Waynesburg, sister of former two-time champ Rachel Rohanna, ran away with the gold.

It came down to the final hole as Katterina Luttner of Fox Chapel bested her sister Nadia by one stroke to claim her first championship, shooting a 76. Nadia was the two-time defending champion. Katterina two-putted the final hole after Nadia bogeyed at 17 and 18 to finish at 77.

Katterina did not go without adversity during the round, she was even par thru 13, before triple-bogeying the 14th, to go to three over and into a tie with Nadia. She said she started playing for pars after seeing she was tied with her sister, who was playing in the group ahead of her. She said she worked hard to improve her putting and it showed in her run to the championship.

Nadia showed obvious disappointment with the second place finish, but was quick to point out that if anyone was to beat her for the title, she wanted it to be her sister. She refused to blame the weather for the loss.

Marrisa DeCola of Butler finished third at 79, equaling her score from last year. DeCola stuck her approach shot on the upper tier of the 18th green, one of the best shots on the finishing hole of the day. Emily Lawson of Fox Chapel finished fourth at 81, the Foxes took three of the first four places.

The Division II championship was decided early as Emily Rohanna of Waynesburg claimed that first ever title. Rohanna shot an 83, the only player in the Division II field to score in the eighties. With the victory, Rohanna joined her sister Rachel, who won WPIAL gold in 2005 and 2007. Rohanna said the course played a lot longer due to the conditions, a brisk day with rain at the start of the round. She said her putting improved greatly since shooting a 96 in last year's championship.

Macky Fouse of Central Valley finished second in Division II with a 91. Haley Borkovich of Penn-Trafford shot 93 to finish third.

With the wins by Luttner and Rohanna, they become the second and third pair of sisters to win a WPIAL golf championship, joining Katie and Megan Trachock of Upper St. Clair, who won the 2003 and 2004 championships.

The top twelve finishers in the combined field qualified for the PIAA Western Regionals at Tom's Run on October 18th. This is the first year the WPIAL has divided the field into two divisions, the qualifiers are combined since the PIAA only has one classification for golf.

Here are all of today's scores and qualifiers.

Katterina Luttner Fox Chapel 76
Nadia Luttner Fox Chapel 77
Marrisa DeCola Butler 79
Emily Lawson Fox Chapel 81
Kendall Allen Shady Side Academy 83
Emily Rohanna Waynesburg 83
Shannon Gramley Shady Side Academy 84
Janista Numpho-Franks Hempfield 88
Paige Wojdyla Seneca Valley 90
Macky Fouse Central Valley 91
Haley Borkovich Penn-Trafford 93
Shelby Dziak Bentworth 95
Abbie Helbling Beaver 95
Gianna Pro Penn-Trafford 95
Stephanie Verheyen Upper St. Clair 95
Dziak, Helbling, Pro and Verheyen all tied for 12th place. Pro won the playoff in three holes to claim the final qualifying spot.

Lexi Scala Central Valley 96
Harmony Shepardson Peters Township 96
Danielle von Waldow Upper St. Clair 97
Ryanne Tyler North Allegheny 97
Jocelyn Sudar Central Valley 98
Aja Happel Sewickley Academy 99
Caroline Walker Oakland Catholic 101
Mia Barchetti Penn-Trafford 102
Emily Slkifka Derry 102
Alexa Glew Mars 105
Sydeny Smyers Shaler 106
Veronica Bujdos Indiana 109
Lizzie Hammel North Allegheny 110
Gabby Sherman Mount Lebanon 111
Elena Monteball Kittanning 122
Rachael Weyant Kiski Area 136