Aug. 30 – YORKTOWN – Most elite athletes are inconsolable after a bad outing, feeling like they’ve let their team down or not performed up to their potential.
Daleville senior golfer Addy Gick had one of those days Wednesday at The Players Club in Yorktown, finishing with her worst nine-hole score since her freshman year.
What could have been a miserable day on links to Gone was somewhat reassured by her playing partner, Tigers senior — and meet medalist — Kayleigh Agugliaro, as the two have shared a friendship that has spanned their high school careers.
They met when they were paired as freshmen and struck up a conversation. During the initial chat, it was discovered that Gick and Agugliaro had birthdays coming up and were born a day apart – Agugliaro on September 7th and Gick on September 8th.
“Golf definitely brought us closer and being a day apart,” Gick said. “I think I asked her age and our birthdays were coming up.”
The coincidences resulted in a 20 minute conversation on the subject and a lasting friendship was born.
“We exchanged information and things and we started talking and found out our birthdays were around the same time,” Agugliaro said. “We enjoyed our round and I felt like it was a really good time and I enjoyed it.
“We talked about (the birthdays). Then we started texting each other.”
Since that August day in 2020, the two have been paired many times and have enjoyed their rounds together. Both are certainly talented, and often Agugliaro and Gick compete against each other for the top spot.
But neither sees the other as a rival.
“I don’t really think about the person I’m playing with or try to get nervous,” Gick said. “I just try to go in, play with them and talk to them.”
“I like it a lot,” Agugliaro said. “I think we get along. It’s fun and it’s not like I’m playing with a random person. It’s someone I can talk to.”
The schedules of the two seniors are busy, and they rarely get to see each other away from the golf course. There was a chance meeting when Agugliaro was at a Muncie frozen yogurt restaurant with his girlfriend.
“I was like, ‘There’s Addy. What are you doing at Berrywinkle in Muncie when you live in Anderson?'” she said.
The conversations on the course are as varied as you would expect from two high school friends. Sometimes the talk is about how the round is going, but often the talk is about school, the weather, Gick’s dog or upcoming birthdays.
On a day like Wednesday, when Gick was fighting to turn 52, having a friend who knows that feeling around and knows how to bring a smile is priceless.
“I said it was a great day for golf, especially since I didn’t play the best,” Gick said.
There are friends and there are golf friends, and it is important to have one of the latter who understands the pain of a tough round.
“It’s very helpful,” Gick said. “Before a round, we can text each other if we’re nervous.”
“If we mess something up, we can talk about it and laugh about it like, ‘Why did we decide to do this on this hole?’ I don’t really try to think about what’s going on. I just try to boost the other person,” Agugliaro said. “If I do better than Addy, I try to boost her, but if she does better, then Addy will probably try to make me laugh.”
Both will play golf in college, with Agugliaro leaning toward Trine and Gick possibly staying closer to home at Anderson University. The two plan to follow each other’s careers in the future and hope to compete against each other at the next level.
“I would be happy,” Agugliaro said. “I wanted to see Addy even if I wasn’t playing.”
“That would be exciting,” Gick said. “I would think, ‘Oh, God, I’m going to see her again’.”
The Yorktown senior finished with a 42, the low round of the day, but Daleville prevailed in the team match 210-221. Ava Capes led the Broncos with 45, while Alyssa Richman (53) and Emma Ciampola (60) rounded out Daleville’s scoring.
Gick looks to bounce back Thursday when Daleville travels to Wapahani.
Agugliaro and Gick will meet again in just over two weeks when Yorktown and Daleville compete in the Muncie Sectional, this time at Crestview.
Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.