Carrollton girls finish 12th at state golf tournament, hope to return next year

The state Class 1A golf tournament came to an end Wednesday with Carrollton coach Armando Echeverria thinking more about sentiment than where his team finished in the final standings.

Two girls on Echeverria’s team, Charlotte Stott and Gaby Delgado, have helped propel Carrollton through the regular season, district and regionals for three years now so they could make that trip up Florida’s Turnpike to mid-Florida to play in the tough-to-achieve state tournament.

Now, Stott and Delgado are graduating.

“They are two girls that have helped us make it here the past three years, and it will be sad to see them go,” Echeverria said.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Carrollton won’t be making a fourth straight trip to state next year.

The team, thanks in part to Stott and Delgado, has developed a strong foundation and has one of South Florida’s best young players in sophomore Tanya Eathakotti, who could possibly make six trips to state before she graduates.

When asked if Carrollton would be back next year, Eathakotti smiled and answered in two quick words: “For sure,” she said.

Carrollton finished 12th in the team standings Wednesday as Broward and Dade competitors put on strong, if not winning, performances.

For the second straight day, the tournament was delayed by rain, this time for 90 minutes. The Carrollton team got four shots off on their first hole when the horn sounded, halting play.

“The delay was a challenge,” Echeverria admitted.

The only top-10 finish by a Dade or Broward individual or team came when North Broward Prep finished seventh in the girls’ team competition, led by Virginia Paglialunga’s 74-73-147 — good for 11th in the individual standings. Teammate Hannah Leiner chipped in with 73-76-149 to put her in a tie for 17th.

Carrollton’s 12th place was Dade’s top team performance, and the top girls’ finisher from Dade was a surprise as Alicia Cappellaro of Doral’s Divine Savior shot 76-74-150 to finish in a tie for 19th overall.

Eathakotti was the second-highest Dade finisher at 42nd with an 80-79-159.

In the boys’ half of the tournament, Pine Crest and Gulliver were the top Broward-Dade schools. Led by Miles Castoro with a 77-79-156, Pine Crest finished 12th and Gulliver (led by Chris Nido’s 73-86-159) finished 13th.

Jake Berber Frankel, an eighth-grader from Ransom Everglades, qualified for the tournament as an individual and shot 77-84-161 to tie for 35th.

CLASS 1A STATE GOLF BOYS’ TEAM SCORES

BOYS’ INDIVIDUALS

GIRLS’ TEAM SCORES

GIRLS’ INDIVIDUALS

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Carrollton girls finish 12th at state golf tournament, hope to return next year."