OTTUMWA — Fairfield girls golf coach Susan Steinback felt fortunate on Friday afternoon at the Ottumwa Country Club.

Pleasant weather sure didn’t hurt her good mood. A chance to square off against the defending state champ Ottumwa Bulldogs was also a plus that she thoroughly enjoyed.

Her Trojans came up short against Ottumwa in the southeast Iowa dual. Head coach Dusty Stewart and his Bulldog bunch kept their winning streak going in a 77-stroke victory over Steinback’s squad.

Ottumwa shot a team score of 165 to Fairfield’s 242. Each team played the front-nine, which is a par 35. With the win, the Bulldogs continued their run of excellence with their 23rd straight victory without a loss.

Steinback described going up against arguably the best team in the state, which also sports the two best individual linksters in Iowa — seniors Kristin and Sarah Paulson. Steinback is without her top six players from a year ago.

“Our girls are beginners. They were thinking these girls aren’t going to want to play us. I said, ‘just go and enjoy watching the No. 1 and No. 2 golfers in the state.’ They were lucky to,” said Steinback, who started the girls golf and swimming programs over in Jefferson County.

The Paulson twins dominated the field, as Sarah shot an even-par 35 and her twin sister Kristin carded a two-over par 37. The girls are ranked as the two best spring prep golfers in Iowa, according to the stroke averages submitted to the Iowa High School Golf Coaches Association Website.

Steinback also took home a valuable collector’s item that could be worth substantial money some day should the Paulsons’ games progress to elite status.

“I kept a signed card too — once they become pro,” said smiling Steinback.

Kristin plans on being a preferred walk-on at Iowa State and her twin Sarah will play basketball and golf at Central College in Pella. The highly-productive tandem could hold the keys to another state title for Ottumwa this season. That would make state title No. 6 for the Ottumwa High School girls golf program should the Bulldogs make it back-to-back Class 4A crowns.

The big meet for the Bulldogs is less than a week away. In the meantime, they’ll finish the regular season out at home. Ottumwa played its last round of the season at its home course — the Ottumwa Country Club. The Bulldogs host the CIML Metro Conference meet at Cedar Creek on Tuesday and Washington at the same venue on Thursday.

The first step in Ottumwa’s final quest for 2008 is to qualify for state and that challenge awaits at Flint Hills Golf Course at the Class 4A Regional on Monday, May 19 in Burlington.

Stewart was honest in his assessment of his overall team’s play on Friday, which saw sophomore Hailey Sheldahl fire a 46 for OHS’ third-best score. Fellow soph Paige Wetrich scored a 47 to officially round out Ottumwa’s top-four submitted scores.

“A few of them are struggling a little bit. That’s OK right now. We still have a good couple weeks before state,” said Stewart, who mentioned the Bulldogs’ chipping and putting is forcing them to add strokes to its final scorecard.

The goal for Ottumwa is to be playing the best golf possible at exactly the right time. Practicing as much as possible could be the most important ingredient to work out the kinks and be able to produce season-best performances when they matter the most.