BURLINGTON — Ottumwa’s title defense begins now.

The Ottumwa girls golf team’s quest at back-to-back state titles lifted off the ground on Monday at Flint Hills Golf Course in Burlington.

The Bulldogs won their regional by 17 strokes and qualified for the Class 4A State Tournament to be held in Marshalltown May 27-28.

The win moved Ottumwa’s win streak to 26 straight meets without a loss. The last setback Ottumwa encountered came at the 2006 state meet, where the Bulldogs finished third.

“We obviously want to win state, but you have to get there first. We have the first half done,” said Ottumwa head coach Dusty Stewart.

Ottumwa is the defending state champ and won its regional with a team score of 320. Bettendorf was runner-up with a 337.

The state takes the top two teams in a region to state and the best five individual scores. Albia’s Amy Garver qualified for state as an individual in her team’s Class 2A regional in State Center. The Lady Dees linkster fired an 87 — just one stroke off the best score.

The top personal performance at Burlington came by Ottumwa senior Kristin Paulson. Paulson fired a one-under par 70 to lead all scores and propel her team into the next round.

Kristin’s twin sister, Sarah, also had an outstanding day with a three-over par 74, good for third place.

Stewart was very happy about his team’s performance and mentioned that the Bulldogs team total was the second-best score they’ve shot on 18 holes this year.

“I think the girls responded pretty well. They put in a lot of hard work this week, especially their short game,” said Stewart.

Ottumwa sophomores Hailey Sheldahl and Paige Wetrich each shot rounds of 88. Those scores could go even lower at state if each of the talented linksters avoid a big hole, which happened on Monday. Sheldahl and Wetrich both had a hole where they carded eight strokes.

“They really came around,” said Stewart.

Ottumwa senior Betsy Anderson played to a round of 96 and sophomore Miranda Goodman scored a 97.

Ottumwa’s stiffest competition at state will be what most pundits thought it would be — Ankeny, Ames and West Des Moines Valley. Those teams, along with Ottumwa, comprised the top four slots at the ’07 state meet.