Girls Golf secured a tight win against University High with a score of 210-209 on Sept. 17 at their home range in Rancho San Joaquin. Their next match will be an away game on Oct. 25 against University High.

Freshman Lisa Li and sophomore Katie Tseo were standout players in the match. They both shot even par, keeping scores low and helping maintain an optimistic start. In total, they made three birdies, allowing the Bulldogs to stay in the lead despite later bogeys.

“The first [birdie] I made was a long putt, and then the second one was a seven-foot putt,” Tseo said. “On the first one, I was like, just get it close. Don’t even worry about it. I just didn’t want a free putt.”

Player mentality makes a huge difference while on the course and allows players to perform to their best ability during the match. Despite some of the girls stepping into unfamiliar roles, they were able to stay composed and deliver a strong performance, according to Head Girls Golf Coach Wind Ralston. Li emphasized the importance of staying calm and level-headed throughout the match.

“Right now, I’m fixing my swing, and I’m still trying to maintain a good attitude on the course,” Li said. Whenever I make a mistake, I’ll use a lot of calming methods, like deep breathing, to calm down and relax and just think about the next shot.”

Overall, the team made a solid performance on Wednesday and is aiming to qualify for CIF later in the season. Coach Ralston plans to give the team the best shot possible by focusing attention on specific types of plays and refining skills as needed.

“They might work on their short game and then they’ll not have enough time to work on their putting, and then next time it’ll be their putting,” Ralston said. “With golf, there’s always so many different parts of your game to work on.”