Lawrence High golfer Beatrice Lopez tees off on the first hole to begin play during 6A Regionals golf, Monday, Oct. 12, 2015 at Alvamar Golf Course.

Lawrence High freshman golfer Beatrice Lopez was brand-new to the sport when she joined the girls golf team in August.

Less than two months later, Lopez earned a spot at the Class 6A state tournament, shooting a 122 at Alvamar on Monday in the Class 6A regional tournament.

The top three teams in the regional tournament qualify for state, along with the top five golfers not on qualifying teams. Lopez was the last individual golfer to qualify for state, earning a spot by one stroke.

Free State High junior Anne Goebel and sophomore Tori Hoopingarner also qualified for the state tournament as individuals. Hoopingarner shot a 103, and Goebel fired a 112.

Lopez, who was playing in only her second varsity tournament, shot a 64 on the front nine and turned in a 58 on the back nine.

“It was really surprising to me, actually,” Lopez said of her state berth. “I was not expecting that at all.”

Lopez is strong with her driver and mid-irons, which helps her adjust to the “harder courses” after playing on the junior-varsity squad for the majority of the season. She joined the team this season because her father and grandfather “are big golfers,” and she wanted to give it a shot.

“She’s a ballplayer and has hand-eye coordination,” LHS coach Jennifer Schmitt said. “She’s an easy athlete to work with. She has a lot of athletic talent. She just did well. She persevered.”

Lawrence started the season with Lopez and just one other golfer on the team. The Lions finished the season with seven golfers — Lopez was the only golfer on varsity — and, now, one state participant.

“Had you told me six weeks ago,” Schmitt said, “when I was recruiting to the student body at a pep rally saying, ‘Go out for the golf team.’ Had you told me then that I would be taking a kid to state, I don’t know what I would’ve said. That’s a quick change of events.”

Hoopingarner spent most of the season on the JV squad for the Firebirds, but proved herself on the varsity level in the past few tournaments. She finished 11th overall on Monday.

Hoopingarner struggled with chipping for most of the morning, but improved on the back nine, shooting a 50. She shot a 53 on the front nine.

“I feel like I could have done better because we practice here all of the time,” said Hoopingarner, who sank a few long putts. “But I think I did pretty well with how I did on the last few holes, so I’m pretty happy.”

Goebel qualified for state with the entire Firebirds team during her first two seasons, and she was proud of qualifying individually for the first time, despite a tough round chipping and sinking putts.

“I had a couple blowup holes, but that’s OK,” Goebel said. “I tried to recover from them. I did my best.”

Both Goebel and Hoopingarner admitted the regional is much more stressful than regular-season tournaments, but were thrilled when they found out they were headed to state.

“Couldn’t be happier,” FSHS coach Layne Meyer said. “I was really thrilled for both of them. They’ve worked hard all year, and I’m just really glad that they’re seeing their hard work rewarded with a trip to state.”

The state tournament begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday at Terradyne Country Club in Andover.

Monday at Alvamar Golf Course

Team Scores (top three teams qualify for state): Shawnee Mission East 329, Shawnee Mission South 411, Shawnee Mission Northwest 412, Shawnee Mission North 534.

Five individual state qualifiers: Faith Duensing, SMW, 98; Tori Hoopingarner, FS, 103; Katlyn Killeen, SMN, 105; Anne Goebel, FS, 112; Beatrice Lopez, LHS, 122.

Medalists: 1. Teagan Noblit, SME, 79; 2. Haley Bell, SME, 80; 3. Jessica Parker, SME, 84; Marti Collantes, SMS, 85; 5. Riley Ricket, SME, 86; 6. Marti Fromm, SME, 91; 7. Julia Stopperan, SME, 92; 8. Abby Radmanesh, SMNW, 95; 9. Faith Duensing, SMW, 98; 10. Cassie Gomer, SMNW, 99.

Free State results: 11. Tori Hoopingarner, 103; 19. Anne Goebel, 112.

Lawrence High result: 20. Beatrice Lopez, 122.