By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls' golf team posted an important win to open the season Tuesday.
Hosting Worthington in a Southwest Conference match at the Luverne Country Club, the Cardinals made a statement by beating the defending league champions.
Trojan standout Ingrid Rickers shot a medal-earning round of 39 strokes, but it wasn't enough to keep LHS from posting a 197-209 victory.
Melissa Kopp led the 1-0 Cardinals with an 11-over-par 47.
Gabe Van Dyk and Amber Top shot 49s and Cara Wynia added a 52 to Luverne's winning team tally.
Kim Bennett and Emily Oksness shot 52s without influencing the scoring.
The Cardinal B squad opened the season with a 224-274 win. Trisha Gonnerman and Sandy Gertz shot 55s for Luverne.
Luverne, which played a makeup match in Adrian Wednesday, hosts Tracy-Milroy and Pipestone-Jasper today and Tuesday respectively. The Cardinals play in Westbrook tomorrow and in Windom Monday.