The Kits face top teams at regionals on Tuesday, but they feel confident that they can keep their focus and move one step closer to the state finals.

“Conference was really hard for me to get through because I had such high expectations for myself,” said senior captain Bill Nondorf. “I’m going into regionals with a clear mind and a less stressful attitude. I just want to enjoy one of my final rounds with this wonderful program that I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of.”

The three teams with the lowest scores in regionals move on to sectionals, as well as the next ten individuals from the other teams. Evanston is set to face some of the top teams in the area, such as Loyola, New Trier, and Glenbrook South.

“If things don’t work out as a team, we have many strong individuals that have a good shot at qualifying,” said coach Curtis.

Players competing in regionals include seniors Bill Nondorf, Sam Knepper, Adam Niedbalski, Nick Maslauski, Gill Hurtig, and junior Nick Lydon. These five players led the team at the conference meet, which helped coach Curtis make the decision about his lineup. Maslauski led the team with a low score of just 79.

“I’ve never seen Nick so determined and focused on every shot. He was getting up and down from everywhere. His putter was on fire,” said coach Curtis.

Sam Knepper, co-captain of the squad, also played an impressive round of golf at the conference meet.

“Our most important goal is for our players to put up solid scores when it matters, which would be during conference matches, conference itself, regionals, and hopefully sectionals and state,” said Sam.

The Kits have certainly put up solid scores during conference matches. They had a solid win over Waukegan that ended at 149-181 in the Kits’ favor. They also played a strong match against Maine South, but lost by a devastating three strokes.

“Boring golf is good golf. We don’t need disasters but we also don’t need a lot of flash. I’m just looking for the boys to play consistently,” said Curtis.

Sam showed how consistent he could really be at the Wheeling invitational. He shot his lowest score of the season, a 77, with two birdies, nine pars, and seven bogies.

“Sam played his best round of the season. He was extremely consistent and he put together a really nice round,” said Curtis. “Sam and Bill are our returning players, and their experience is really valuable at this time of year. They’ll have confidence and they won’t have the jitters when they first get out there.”

The Kits will need to have enough mental focus to get them one step closer to the State Finals.