Flowers ease the pain of a loss

Thursday, June 15, 2006

By JUSTIN CONN

The Register-Mail

In her left hand, Mendrek held a bouquet of flowers.

"They're from my boyfriend - Chad Williamson," said Mendrek, standing outside the clubhouse at Soangetaha Country Club near the scoreboard for the Illinois Women's Golf Association State Amateur Tournament. "It's my birthday."

Sitting behind Mendrek was her Flight 2 opponent in the first round of match play - former Galesburg High School teammate Trisha Blake. Unlike Williamson, Blake wasn't in the giving mood Wednesday. She beat Mendrek - a senior-to-be at GHS - 4 and 2 on the 16th hole to advance to today's semifinal round.

"Yeah, I feel bad for beating her on her birthday," Blake said.

Then Blake wrinkled her nose.

"Well, not really," Blake said.

Blake laughed.

"I don't know - it was tough," she said. "I did kind of feel bad. I mean, I know her. She was my teammate."

Blake was a senior and Mendrek a freshman on the 2003 GHS team that made state. But Tuesday's match was hardly a stroll down memory lane.

"We didn't really talk much," Mendrek said. "I've never played match play before, so, you know, it was different."

Blake, who had played in only a couple of match play tournaments prior to this one, said the direct competition made it hard to socialize. Both players' unfamiliarity with the format added to the stress.

"It's hard to know when the match ends," Blake said. "There's only one scorecard and sometimes you have to think, 'OK, what's going on here?"

On the course, each approached match play differently.

"I play more aggressively in match play," Blake said. "You almost have to play off what your opponent does. If they have a bad shot, you know all you need to do is get on the green and two putt and things will be OK."

Mendrek said she didn't play any differently than she would a regular round - but wished she would have.

"I should have played more conservative," Mendrek said. "I didn't always do that."

Mendrek said the match came down to the short game.

"I didn't putt well," Mendrek said. "And she made two nice putts at the end."

Mendrek shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh well, it's not going to ruin my birthday," she said.

Blake - a golfer at Eastern Illinois University - will play Ashley Hemann today in the Flight 2 semifinals. If she wins, she'll play again later in the day for the championship.