The Seventeenth Annual SWATCA Championship was held at Raintree CC in Charlotte, NC October 25-28 2009. Our NC Team took the early lead after Mondays better ball format and never looked back. In 2007 the North Carolina Team set a record win by recording 12 points out of a possible 16. In 2008 Florida tied that record by winning in Mississippi with 12 points. This year at Raintree our North Carolina Team shattered that record by scoring an impressive 13.5 points, a record that may never be broken.
The first day format was Better Ball. The NC Team recorded 3 wins and 1 tie. FL was victorious in all but one match. Deb Adams and Melissa Sage handed FL's Diane Lang and Taffy Bower their only loss. Even though our Katie Brenny and Kathy Binkley recorded more birdies the first day than any other NC Team they were only able to split their match against MS. That's how is goes sometimes with match play.
The second day format was Alternate Shot. The weather conditions were high 60 and rain. The longer you were on the golf course the more miserable the conditions became. Home field advantage was a plus as we were prepared for the elements with cart covers and plenty of hand warmers. At the end of the day we recorded all 4 wins and increased our lead.
Going in to the final day of eight singles matches the score was. NC - 7.5, FL - 5, TN - 3, MS - 2.5, AL - 2. Our first three wins in singles matches were big. Katie Brenny won 7&5, Melissa Sage won 7&5 and Dr. Angela Stewart won 7&6. Our last three wins of the day went all the way to 18. I must admit that I was a nervous wreck at that point because I was under the impression that FL was winning all 8 of their matches. Kim Briele comes to the par 5 - 17th hole one up. She stiffs her third shot to within a foot and her birdie is conceded only to witness her opponent drain her birdie putt. Kim's approach shot on 18 carried pin high but caught the slope and ended up a good 40 feet away. With nerves of steel, she managed to two putt and halve the hole to remain 1 up and record her third straight victory. Coming down the stretch Patty Moore missed the green on 16 and failed to get up and down. Her match went back to all square. I witnessed Patty walk the entire 17th hole with her caddie, Murrie Ives, regaining her composure to halve the 17th and win the 18th hole to record her third straight victory. Maggie Weder lost hole 16th hole to remain one up. She scrambled her way around 17 (even loosing a ball... what a great bogey) for a half and managed to halve the 18th to remain one up.
The final score was NC - 13.5, FL - 12, AL - 5.5, TN - 5, MS - 4
To say that I am proud of this team would be an understatement. They battled hard from start to finish and they deserve to hear me say that they "exceeded my expectations." I felt as if we had the strongest team going in and they proved it. Congratulations NC SWATCA Team!
Respectfully Submitted,
Donna Noblitt
NC SWATCA Team Captain
