Girls’ golf (8-3) won against University High with a score of 163-169 in their final league match at Strawberry Farms on Oct. 17. They were named co-league champions, and all members of the team qualified for individual CIF.
For the team’s seniors, the match was a fulfilling end for the league season, according to senior Emmie Ding. Girls’ golf captain and senior Zoe Wynn shot two-over par and three-under par each day in league. She said that she felt proud of her consistency in her performance and being able to end on a strong note. In addition, senior Ding shot three-over par in the match.
From the start, every Bulldog parred or birdied the first hole, while each Trojan bogeyed or double bogeyed it. This gave them a comfortable six stroke lead, which was the margin they eventually won the match by. Although light conditions eventually prevented them from widening the lead farther, the strong start gave them the assured mindset many needed to perform under their average.
This year, head coach Wind Ralston said he focused more on building their player confidence, instead of only working on adjusting their swings. The strategy seems to have worked, as although nine new freshmen were added this year, the whole team has improved tremendously over the season since summer practice, according to Ralston.
“They did a really good job,” Ralston said. “I had some of my freshmen play some of their better rounds of the season, so they kind of heated up a little bit, maybe getting more experience, less jittery with their nerves. Because honestly the first four or five matches, it’s all new. They’ve never played team golf. Team golf is a different beast than just going out and playing with your friends.”
Newer players like freshman Katie Tseo felt content with their improvement and performance over the season, according to Tseo. Tseo said she felt satisfied with her strikes and her ability to keep a calm mentality even when holes did not go the way she wanted. Although she was five holes over in her match against University High, she feels that she has improved since that match to do better in individual CIF, where she lost by two strokes, according to Tseo.
“I think passion is really important for golf because it’s not a sport you can do without it.” Tseo said. “I know I want to keep playing golf for the entire [high school] year, not just this season, and that makes me optimistic about how much I’ll improve next year because I know I want to keep trying and getting better.”
The game ended with a special celebration for seniors Wynn and Ding.
“For me something special is that after the game on Thursday, me and Zoe got flowers from our teammates since that was the last league game me and Zoe will play because we are both seniors,” Ding said. “We won that match and became co-league champions. It was a very happy moment for me.”
