Jack Major
Staff Writer
As the girls golf team gathered after the conclusion of the round, their faces radiated the general feeling of the day: Success.
The Mustangs played at Rio Hondo Golf Course in Downey on Tuesday. They had five of seven players advance to the next round of the Bay League Individual Championships, led by senior Ashley Kim who shot an even par, 72 to win the event and freshman Shani Waite who shot a 9-over, 81, finishing in fifth place.
“I didn’t play very well today and I knew I could do better,” Waite said. “It was pretty rough out there but I stuck it through until the end I think our team did great and although we knew we could play better we all supported each other.”
Although Waite scored decently, her putting and driving of the golf ball were inconsistent. According to Waite, the best part of her game today was her iron play.
“I hit the ball inconsistently off the tee and once on the greens, I did not perform up to my standards, although I rolled in a 20-foot putt for birdie on the ninth hole” Waite said. “ I hit my irons pure and gave myself good putting opportunities though.”
The team was backed up by scores of 76 from sophomore Klara Nagy finishing in third place, an 86 from freshman Lauren Chao, and an 82 from senior Lexi Nielsen finishing in eighth place. Nielsen did not play up to her standards but still posted a respectable score.
“I didn’t play as well as I hoped to overall,” Nielsen said. “I had some bad holes but my drives were really solid.”
Nielsen also had a solid day on the putting green. She made two putts longer than twenty feet and made all of her putts inside four feet, however. Nielsen felt like her iron play and wedges let her down today.
“I felt that I putted very well despite shooting 82,” Nielsen said. “I made a 30 foot putt to save my par on the seventh hole, but after putting myself in good position with my drives off the tee, I felt that I let myself down with poor iron and wedge shots that made it hard to shoot a low score today.”
The next match is an exhibition match against Torrance High at Los Verdes Golf Course in Palos Verdes on Thursday. Nielsen looks forward to this match even though it does not count to their overall Bay League record.
“Even though this upcoming match does not matter to our overall [Bay League] record,” Nielsen said, “I love playing school matches and it’s my last match as a Mustang. It’s bittersweet because it will definitely be a fun last match but also sad because it’s the final one.”
The Mustangs finished the season with an undefeated overall record of 11-0, and 6-0 in Bay League. Coach Tom Cox was proud of the girls golf team today, and throughout the season.
“The girls played great today, and I am very proud of them. Our goal coming into this match was to play to our best potential and we accomplished that today,” Cox said. “You can’t ask for much more than to go undefeated in Bay League, and at the beginning of the season that was one of our main goals, so I’m very happy with the girls. Now we are onto the California Interscholastic Federation(CIF) championships and hopefully we play well in this as well.”
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