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A common trait among many good sports teams is a player that sets the tone for the rest of his or her teammates to follow. That characteristic is true of the Carroll girls golf team, and junior MaKayla Tyrrell is the athlete leading the way.
Tyrrell, who was still pretty new to the Lady Dragons varsity golf program last year, was described by Carroll associate head golf coach Matt Glenn as somewhat of a question mark at the start of the season. By the end of her sophomore year, she was more of an exclamation point, putting in the time and effort to elevate her game.
“She’s just kind of decided that she doesn’t want to get beat,” Glenn says. “The rest of the girls have seen that that’s the way it’s supposed to be, and they’ve followed that lead pretty well.”
Carroll teammate Emma Costa, the lone senior on varsity this year, also sets an example with a great attitude, Glenn says. Costa has competed on the Lady Dragons varsity team since her freshman year.
Effort and experience has molded this year’s team, and their wisdom and drive is evident with the approach they’ve taken on the course throughout the season.
SEASON UPDATE
With steady play throughout the season, the Lady Dragons golf team captured wins at a couple of tournaments this year, including a first-place finish at the 4-6A District meet. However, those accolades won’t mean as much to the team unless they have a strong showing at the state tournament May 10-11 at the Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown.
Although state golf tournaments did not take place last year due to the COVID pandemic, the Carroll girls program finished third at state in 2019, and players have their eyes on bringing home a medal once again.
“The biggest thing is how competitive they are,” says associate head coach Matt Glenn. “It just seems like when it comes down to crunch time, those girls really step up.”
Led by junior MaKayla Tyrrell's individual first-place finish at district in late March, the Lady Dragons finished ahead of second place Trophy Club Byron Nelson. Both teams advanced to the 6A Region I meet April 19-20 at Tangle Ridge Golf Club for a chance to move on to the state meet. And their second-place finish ensured they would compete at the next level.
Carroll expected to receive a challenge from Hebron and Coppell, two other top teams in the region from the Metroplex. Hebron is ranked second in the state by THSG. Matchups with local powers allowed the Lady Dragons to test their strength and prepare for the postseason tournaments, Carroll associate head coach Paige Martin says.
“We get paired with [Hebron and Coppell] quite a bit,” Martin says. “That’s nice to see that (challenge and level of competition] so close to home.”