NEW ALBANY — New Albany junior Haley Roth helped lead the Bulldogs’ girls’ golf team to a sectional championship for the first time in school history last season.

With four golfers back from a year ago, New Albany should contend with Floyd Central for this year’s sectional title.

The only golfer the Bulldogs lost was Holly Roth, Haley’s older sister and New Albany’s No. 1 golfer.

Haley Roth sat down with News and Tribune sports editor Greg Mengelt at Covered Bridge Golf Club Tuesday for a 1-on-1 interview.



• QUESTION: Is it weird being the only high school sport that starts so early? You don’t get much of a summer, do you?

• ROTH: “It’s not too bad. It gets pretty hot, but other than that, it’s really not bad. I don’t mind it. You do get a little of your summer taken away, but it’s doing what you love.”

• Q: Do you realize that for two weeks, you get all of the coverage in the News and Tribune until the other falls seasons begin?

• ROTH: “Yeah. I like that. It’s good for golf to get some attention.”

• Q: Last year, you went into the sectional as the favorites, since you’d beaten everybody going into it. But, never having done it before, what kind of expectations did you have going in?

• ROTH: “We were pretty consistent throughout the year. We went into sectionals, I’m not sure if we thought we were going to win. I didn’t play as well as I thought I was going to.”

• Q: When you come off the course after shooting a 101, were you thinking, “Man, I just blew it for my team?”

• ROTH: “I was really upset because the year before that I went to regionals (as a freshman). It was upsetting because I felt like I let my team down.”

• Q: So when you found out that you had won the sectional as a team, did your mood change?

• ROTH: “Yeah, we were really excited. We had just won for the first time in our school’s history. It was exciting.”

• Q: How big was it to get (current senior) Bailey (Biggs) out to play golf instead of volleyball last year?

• ROTH: “That was pretty big important. She worked hard. She just got better and better. We were really happy that she came out to play (golf).”

• Q: Obviously, you lost your sister, Holly, who was your best golfer last year. So what are your expectations for this year’s team?

• ROTH: “I think we’ll do pretty well. We have four players coming back, so with that advantage, I think the season will turn out pretty well.”

• Q: So does that mean you’re going to repeat as sectional champions?

• ROTH: “I hope so. I want to. If we do, it would be awesome.”

• Q: Who’s going to take Holly’s spot on the varsity?

• ROTH: “I think (freshman) Chloe Watts. We’re hoping that she’ll turn out to be really good. She should definitely help.”

• Q: You’ve never golfed in high school without your sister on your team. Do you think her absence will have any affect your game?

• ROTH: “Well, we’re really close. We’re like best friends. She really motivates me. It’s going to be hard without her. It’s going to be different without her here.”

• Q: Has practice this summer been strange, or has she come out to golf with you?

• ROTH: “She said she was going to come out, but she’s had other stuff to do. It’s going to be really different without her to look up to.”

• Q: Are you looking forward to the challenge of doing it without her?

• ROTH: “It’s going to be hard, but I can do it, hopefully.”

• Q: What’s it going to be like for you when she leaves for college?

• ROTH: “Ugh! It’s going to be really hard. She’s in Canada right now. She’s been gone for a week-and-a-half. That’s showing me what it’s going be like, and it’s already really hard without her.”