Coming off a record-breaking season, led by many experienced seniors, and driven by the rigor and aspiration for state qualification, the Niles West varsity golf team strives for optimal success this fall. Though the team lost senior star golfer, Nate Lee, the young roster still hopes to achieve more than last year every stroke and put along the way. Head coach Mitch Stern sits down with NWN to discuss the team’s strengths and goals for this fall.
NWN: How is the team looking this year?
Stern: So far, so good. We are 2-0 right now; we took second place in the Main Niles Shootout. It’s a young team. I think we have been playing great and will be carrying that over to the rest of the season.
NWN: Do you have any specific expectations from some of the players?
Stern: We have one state caliber player on the team, junior Skylar Le Vine. He’s a phenomenal player, and he was at state as a sophomore. He’s one of the top players in the state. We expect him to lead us in our tournament play.
NWN: Are there any big tournaments the team is looking forward to?
Stern: We always have our eye on the end of the season, the state tournament. So, the hope is, by October 6th, we are playing our best golf, coming in confident for the state series to start. We want to make sure that come that day, we are hitting on all cylinders and come ready to play.
NWN: Which school is the team to beat?
Stern: Our biggest competition would definitely be New Trier and Maine South.
NWN: What are the teams’ strengths/weaknesses this year?
Stern: Our biggest strength would have to be our young roster. We don’t have much experience on the team, but our greatest strength would have to be that the team is very urgent to get better. Our greatest weakness is that we don’t have many tournament ready players. The players are always looking to get better, but not many of them are ready to compete at the tournament level.
NWN: What is the team’s biggest goal this year?
Stern: Our goal is always to finish in the top 3 in conference and then we want the team to place out of regional’s and qualify for the second round of state.
The boys tee off on their home course of Willow Course against Glenbrook South on Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 4 pm.
