By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
MOORESVILLE ó Lily Yatawara laughed, then coughed as she finished assessing her round.
An under-the-weather Yatawara shot a 1-over 37 and led Salisbury’s girls golf team to a 30-stroke victory in a match with Lake Norman at Mallard Head Country Club on Tuesday.”I didn’t feel bad when we got here,” Yatawara said. “I’m thinking maybe I should just be sick all the time.”
Yatawara completed her first four holes at 2 under and closed with a bogey.
Amber Lyerly (41) and Madison Kennedy (42) also scored as the Hornets recorded a 120 total. Catherine Parks posted a 43, and Brooke Smith had a 58.
Yatawara, a sophomore, has finished with the team’s best score in three of four matches since the start of last week. She shot an even-par 35 at Warrior Golf Club in China Grove on Sept. 21.
“I think I’m kind of feeding off that,” Yatawara said. “After I did that, I realized I could actually do it.”
Salisbury coach Dale Snyder said his team’s unfamiliarity with a tough Mallard Head back nine that requires many blind shots contributed to some slightly higher scores.
Lyerly still managed a 41 for the second straight match and third time this season.
“It could have been better,” she said. “I had some bad shots, but then I recovered well, which helped me a lot.”
Kennedy acknowledged that she had a tough day, and Parks rebounded from some recent struggles.
She fired a 39 at Warrior to place second on the team behind Yatawara but shot 48 and 46 in the next two matches.
“I have not been playing well, so today was much better for me,” Parks said. “I don’t think I three-putted a single hole, which is really good because that’s what I’ve been doing.”
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A story on Salisbury’s strong start will appear in a future edition of the Post.