A breakthrough round: Cupp shoots a 92 for Wildcats

View larger image Warren County's Britt Cupp chips this shot during a match with Fauquier on Tuesday at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club in Rockland. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Warren County's Britt Cupp tees off during the Evergreen District tournament Tuesday at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club in Rockland. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Warren County's Shivam Mehta lines up a putt during the Evergreen District mini-tournament Tuesday morning at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club in Rockland. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Warren County's Shivam Mehta tees off during the Evergreen District mini-tournament Tuesday morning at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club in Rockland. Rich Cooley/Daily

By Dennis Atwood - sports@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Britt Cupp shot a 92, his best score ever on the par-72 Shenandoah Valley Golf Club course, but his Warren County golf team struggled and finished fifth at 419, in Tuesday's Evergreen District mini-tournament.

Liberty took first place with a 327, Kettle Run was close at hand, with a 330 for second. Fauquier (360) was third followed by Brentsville (410).

Lance Keiser, of Brentsville, took top medalist honors with a 77, nosing out Parker Smith's 78 for Liberty.

Cupp carded a 44 on the blue course front nine, then fell off to a 48 on the red course back nine, both a par 36.

"I'm pretty happy with my outing today," Cupp said. "This is the best score I've every shot on this course, actually. As for our team, a lot of people who don't always expect to score well, showed up and scored pretty well for us. I hope we can do that again when districts come, and maybe send some people to regionals.

"I was very excited about how I scored on the front, so sometimes my mind got a little distracted [on the back nine] with the fact that I didn't really want to mess that up, so I flubbed a couple of shots."

Allie Mingo shot a personal best 101. Shivam Mehta checked in with a 112, and Tori Graham finished at 114 to complete the Wildcats' tally.

"[The] Red [Course] is a little tight on the back, and you can get in trouble a little easier [there]," Warren County coach Matt Wadas said. "We're happy, but we still think [Cupp's] not at his best. He still had a lot of goals. I think we can get him into the 80's. But if districts were held today, he would qualify for regions.

"So, I think we're on the right track. We can't sit on our laurels. We gotta keep improving."

Warren County's No. 2, James Anderson, suffered a 126 outing.

"[Anderson] had a tough day today," Wadas said. "He was on a family vacation this weekend and missed practice, and I think it showed a little bit. It showed that you can't rest with this game. You take a day or two off, and you get out of rhythm. But, it's a good wake-up call that you have to keep working at this game.

"[Mingo] had her personal best. She's close to breaking 100 and she's only been playing a year and one-half. She's making big improvements. I'd like to see her get a shot at regionals."

Today's event was the third, and final, mini-tournament on the Evergreen District schedule. Warren County finished fourth in the mini at Brentsville, and fifth at Fauquier. The Wildcats will play five nine-hole matches to finish out regular season district play.