AJGA Photo
Expectations are high for the Lord Botetourt golf team with the season getting underway this week. The Cavaliers were scheduled to open in the Botetourt Metro Tuesday at the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club.
Botetourt returns five of six starters from last year’s team, including senior standout Alisa Davidova. She’s not only one of the top female golfers in the area, she’s one of the best among all high school players.
Last fall Alisa was the Blue Ridge District Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She had a busy summer, including a second place finish in the Scott Robertson Memorial Tournament on her home course, the Roanoke Country Club. She shot 72, 68 and 70 at RCC to tie for runner-up in a national field of competitors.
Alisa also played in a tournament at the Concession Golf Club in Manatee County, Fla. That was quite an experience.
“It was such a great course and it definitely challenged me,” she said. “I was able to meet Nelly there.”
She played in the Dye Invitational at Crooked Stick and finished in the top 10. The course is a private golf club located in Carmel, Ind., a northern suburb of Indianapolis. It was designed by legendary architects Pete and Alice Dye in 1964, and the 18-hole, par-72 championship course is celebrated for its radical design features and challenging greens.
“It was a very memorable tournament,” said Alisa. “I finished top 10 and I was very lucky to have my brother, Samir Davidov, on the bag that week.”
Her fourth big tournament of the summer was the Rolex Girls Junior Championship at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind.
“It was definitely one of my favorite courses of the summer,” said Alisa. “I was able to put two of the three rounds together and I played in the leader group the last day.”
Davidova also played in the VSGA Junior Girls tournament at the Danville Golf Club, finishing in second place with three rounds of 70.
“I was very lucky to have also played in RLX, with pool match play format, at Bethpage Black, which was definitely one of my favorite courses overall,” said Davidova.
Most recently Alisa played in the VSGA Amateur at the Roanoke Country Club. She made it to the semifinals as the number four seed.
“She has a busy golf schedule, so having her for our district matches is going to be tough,” said LB coach Todd Smith.
Other returning starters include senior Derek Bond and juniors Cole Cecil, Kennedy Carpenter and Jackson Taylor. Senior Peyton Poff and junior Jonah Dunker have put in a lot of work this off-season and are hoping that will carry over into the season.
“We have six newcomers to the team this year that will hopefully gain experience and contribute as well,” said Smith. “The newcomers are junior CJ Johnson, sophomore Avery Huffman and freshmen Josiah Dunker, Eli Hall, Micah Perdue and Brady O’Quinn.”
Botetourt hopes to contend in a strong Region 3D group and beyond.
“There are a lot of good teams in our region this year, so we will need to be playing our best at the end of the season, said Smith.”
