This season feels just a little different for the Dorman Cavaliers. The three-time defending 5A Division I state champions are still the team to beat nearly every week, but the margin for error — and the margin of victory — has gotten smaller.

Head coach Laura Mauer, who helped win the first title as an assistant before guiding the last two as head coach, says the program is as strong as ever, but the competition around the state has caught up.

“If you compare our team scores to the tournaments we played last year and the year before, we’re actually shooting better team golf,” Mauer said. “But we’re not always winning because girls golf as a whole is getting better. This year every stroke matters — every putt counts — and that pressure has been the biggest difference.”

Cavaliers Roll to County Title

The Cavaliers have handled that pressure well so far, winning the Palmetto Preview, the Rebel Invitational, and now the Spartanburg County Championship at Village Greens. Dorman’s total of 315 was more than enough to finish comfortably ahead of runner-up Byrnes.

Freshman Elin Sarstrand led the Cavaliers with a sparkling 1-under-par 71, good for second place individually. Senior captain Ava Romansky — Dorman’s top player and emotional leader — was close behind, and her influence is showing up throughout the lineup.

“Ava has been a leader for a long time, but it’s been fun to see her step fully into what it means to be a captain,” Mauer said. “She’s out at practice helping with golf skills and tournament play. Sometimes players hear it better from a peer leader than from a coach, and she deserves a lot of credit for helping some of our younger girls post lower scores.”

Building Depth, Building Confidence

Mauer says this year’s team has more players capable of going low on any given day — an encouraging sign with a fourth straight state championship run looming.

“Our goal is to show up for each other like sisters,” she said. “Even though golf is an individual sport, they have their teammates, their coaches, and their school pride in the back of their minds. That gives them a little extra push to give it all they’ve got every time.”

Pressure vs. Opportunity

With the season at roughly its halfway point, the Cavaliers are staying focused on the moment — not just the hardware at the end.

“I’d say we look at it as more of an opportunity than pressure,” Mauer said. “We know we’re good golfers and good people, so we just try to make the most of every chance to compete and show up as our best selves. We stay so busy we don’t really have time to get ahead of ourselves.”

Looking Ahead

Dorman will get another major test this weekend at the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association High School Invitational in Hilton Head. The event is part tournament, part mentoring session with LPGA professionals — a mid-season reset that Mauer says her team always enjoys.

“The clinic, the dinner, the chance to be around LPGA players — it comes at a great time in the season when we all need to be encouraged a little bit,” she said. “We always leave Hilton Head reminded of our ‘why,’ and that it’s bigger than just the game of golf.”

As for the road to a potential fourth state championship, Mauer expects familiar rivals to be in the hunt.

“I think it’ll come down to us, River Bluff, and Lexington,” she said. “We respect each other, we cheer for each other — and we still try to beat each other even harder. That’s what makes it fun.”

The %A DI Championship will be played at the Carolina Country Club.