Nathaly Munnicha was 5 years old when her father started taking her and her older sister Alex to an empty field near Par 3 Golf Course to hit golf balls.
Nathaly started playing competitively at age 8 and soon began piling up wins on the Indiana Golf Association junior tours. By the time she started high school last fall, she already was a tournament-tested golfer.
After a solid freshman season, Nathaly took her game to another level this fall. She led Columbus North to sectional and regional titles and is this year’s The Republic Girls Golfer of the Year.
“I just think everything kind of came together better than last year, a lot of improvement,” she said. “My iron shots most of the time were a little iffy, but still better than last year. Somehow, I just scored better.”
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Her best score came early in the season when she fired a 69 in the Zionsville Invitational at Golf Club of Indiana. She was on track to break the 18-hole school record, but triple-bogeyed the last hole and missed the record by one shot.
Nathaly won medalist honors at the Greensburg Sectional with a 75 and finished third in the Lapel Regional with a 76. She carded rounds of 80 and 78 at state to tie for 22nd individually.
“It was not the greatest,” she said of her state finish. “I did improve from last year, but still, I think it could be a lot better.”
Based on her play throughout the season, she did earn All-State honors.
“She had a lot of good rounds this year, especially at the beginning of the year,” North coach Scott Seavers said. “She showed that she belongs in the elite category of girls golfers in the state of Indiana. I’m proud of her for being an All-State golfer, but I also like that she’s a good teammate and a good student. She’s a workhorse. She works and works and works and continues to get better. I’m glad we have her on our team.”
Since the season has been over, Nathaly has been working on her game almost every day at Otter Creek with the hope of improving for the next two years and landing a college scholarship. She finished third in Hoosier Junior Championship earlier this month at Otter Creek.
Looking back at her sophomore year, Nathaly feels she had a more consistent season than she did as a freshman.
“It was great,” she said. “I had a lot of fun. I put out really good scores this year, and hopefully next year, I have even better scores. Hopefully, I improve each year and just do my best.”
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The Republic All-Area Girls Golf team:
Nathaly Munnicha, Columbus North: The sophomore averaged 37.7 per nine holes played and was Greensburg Sectional medalist.
Alex Munnicha, Columbus North: The senior averaged 39.6 per nine holes played and tied the school record with a 32.
Annie Anderson, Columbus North: The junior averaged 42.7 per nine holes played and was Conference Indiana medalist.
Yestika Nischol, Columbus North: The sophomore averaged 44.5 per nine holes played.
Ella Wilks, Columbus North: The freshman averaged 44.6 per nine holes played.
Ashley Masteller, Brown County: The senior led the Eagles with a 42.7 average per nine holes played.
Peyton Whitehead, Jennings County: The senior led the Panthers with a 45.4 average per nine holes played.
Lauren Steinwedel, Columbus East: The junior led the Olympians with a 47.7 average per nine holes played.
Honorable mention
Columbus East: Kati Brunn, Ellie Buntin. Columbus North: Gwen Anderson, Macy Euler. Edinburgh: Morgan Calhoun. Jennings County: Sydney Campbell. South Decatur: Annie Gant.
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