WAYLAND – The Redmond sisters of Concord-Carlisle owned the day for the MIAA girls golf state championships at Sandy Burr Country Club.
Erika Redmond finished as the individual champion after shooting a 73 while Sophie Redmond tied for second place after shooting a 74. Westford Academy’s Maddie Smith also shot a 74 while Ashland’s Rebecca Kriegsman and Longmeadow’s Cecily Henshon rounded out the top five with a 76 and 77 respectively.
The Redmond sisters were in different groups but knew heading into the match that they could both be in contention for a title.
“After seeing the sectional results, I knew there was a chance,” Sophie Redmond said. “Then I saw the leaderboard on the front nine and it was in the back of my head.”
Both Redmonds were even on the front nine and appeared to be true contenders early. Erika Redmond credited her short game and a sustainable approach as a key to her performance.
“I definitely made a lot of good putts,” Erika Redmond said. “My irons were good, the greens were tough, so I tried to play conservative and get it close to the hole so that the putts were manageable.”
Sophie Redmond said she felt good off the tee and her approach shots early in the round kept her in it.
“My drives were good, I was hitting fairways,” Sophie Redmond said. “I was hitting approach shots early but later in the round my approach shots weren’t as good, so I was just aiming for the center of the green. It led to some longer putts, but it ended up working out.”
Erika Redmond kept up her consistency on the back nine, parring seven holes. Sophie Redmond dealt with a few more bogeys but a birdie on the 17th put her within one stroke of her sister.
When Erika Redmond parred the 18th hole on a lengthy putt, she headed to the clubhouse as the leader. That’s when she realized she was ahead and also that her sister was closest to catching her.
“I had no idea what the leaderboard was until I walked off,” Erika Redmond said. “Then I checked and saw that she was really close.”
For a moment, it looked like a playoff awaited the sisters. An excellent approach shot from Sophie Redmond gave her a birdie chance on the 18th. However, the putt missed by a slight margin.
“It definitely makes a good story,” Erika Redmond said.
“It’s going to help us continue to play even better throughout the rest of the summer,” Sophie Redmond said. “We will push each other.”
This ends Erika Redmond’s high school career and she will now head to play collegiate golf at Merrimack. She said capturing the title as a senior was an excellent way to finish her time with the Patriots.
“It feels really good,” Erika Redmond said. “I played my first state match here with the boys and closing my career here is a great moment.”
