Sydney Anderson carved out a stellar golf career at Columbus North. Her sister Holly was the state medalist as a senior in 2016.
Now, their two younger sisters are playing for the sixth-ranked Bull Dogs, who will compete in the state finals Friday and Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
Annie Anderson, the only senior on the North team, is its No. 2 golfer. The youngest sibling, sophomore Gwen Anderson, plays No. 5 for the Bull Dogs.
"I’ve counted on them all year long," North coach Scott Seavers said. "The thing about the Andersons is, they’re very competitive, and they work at it and they get better all year long. So I’m counting on them at the end of the season to continue to play well."
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Both Sydney and Holly have played golf at the collegiate level. Sydney, a 2015 North graduate, spent three years at Ball State, then played her senior year at Evansville and now is a graduate assistant for the Aces.
Holly, who graduated in 2017, played with Sydney for one year at Ball State, then transferred to Purdue-Fort Wayne. She now is a junior for the Mastodons.
While Annie’s golf game is similar to Sydney’s, Gwen’s is more like Holly’s.
"I’ve heard my swing is a lot like Holly’s, and I kind of look and act like she acts," Gwen said.
"I’m most definitely more like Sydney," Annie said. "We both play a big ball and find pars somehow when we probably shouldn’t. It works out positively and negatively sometimes. I think each one of our games have pros and cons."
Annie was able to play with Holly when she was a freshman and Holly was a senior. The past two years, Annie has had a chance to play on the same team as Gwen.
"It’s most definitely a different experience," Annie said. "I like playing with both of them equally, and Gwennie is a lot of fun to be around. She kind of acts like my mom on the course an awful lot of the time. I’m lucky that the years overlapped and that we were able to play on the same team together."
Annie also is going into her fourth year of varsity and her third year as a starter for the North girls basketball team. Gwen, meanwhile, followed in Holly’s footsteps in becoming a basketball cheerleader for the Bull Dogs.
Annie and Gwen began playing golf when they were about 5 years old and became more serious about it when they joined the Northside Middle School team.
"I was a little hesitant at first, but then I just got into it and couldn’t get out of it," Gwen said. "I liked it. I’ve always watched my older sisters play at state and regional and stuff, and I’m just excited to be a part of it and make a difference on the team. I always try to think of where Sydney, Holly and Annie were when they were sophomores at state and kind of what they were shooting, and my goal is to be around there."
They’ll hope to do that this weekend. The state finals begin Friday, and all 15 teams will continue into Saturday’s final round.
North, ranked No. 6 in the state, won its seventh consecutive sectional title on Sept. 21 and on Saturday, captured its third regional crown in the past four years.
"We’ve had a good season," Annie said. "This is the most important time of year, and we’ve all worked really hard for it, so I think we’re ready and excited. We want to just play our best and improve from last time we played. Hopefully, that turns out well on the scoreboard."
Annie is looking at playing either golf or basketball in college, but isn’t sure which one yet. So she’s going into this weekend knowing that this could be her final rounds of competitive golf.
"It’s will most definitely be bittersweet," Annie said. "So I’m going to try to enjoy it and enjoy being around the girls because I’m most definitely going to miss this team."
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Girls Golf State Finals
When: 8:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Prairie View Golf Club, 7000 Longest Dr., Carmel
Who: 15 teams, including Columbus North, whose tee times are from 10:27 to 11:03 a.m., and 25 individuals
Admission:$12 (good for both days)
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