After a close 206-204 loss to Milpitas on March 28 and a decisive 189-212 victory against them on the home course on April 2, the team record stands at 10-2.
Junior Robbie Parden feels that in both these matches the team played well overall. He believes that the main factor in the March 28 loss was the team’s lack of knowledge of the course.
“Playing away [versus] Milpitas was hard because a lot of members on our team do not know that course very well, so there is always [an] uneasy feeling,” Parden said.
This was a stark contrast to the second match against Milpitas where the course played a crucial rule in the team’s success. Parden said juniors Spencer Goldman and Oliver Chen played especially well, and the home course allowed all the players to relax “because they know what they will face on each hole.”
Junior Christian Galvin agrees that home course advantage was key to the win against Milpitas.
“The ultimate edge on the second [match] was great play from me and Robbie Parden, and the overall knowledge of the home course,” Galvin said.
On April 16 the team participated in a tournament at the Seascape Golf Club and placed fourth out of 18 schools. Palma, an all-boys school in Salinas, won the tournament, but for Saratoga the competition primarily served as an opportunity to measure the team’s performance and to practice for SCVAL finals.
“I have won league finals the last two years, and I expect to win again this year,” Parden said. “As a team we won last year, and this year will be a very close competition, but we still have a chance to win.”
Galvin shares the concern that the team will face difficulties in the finals, which take place on April 30 and May 1, but like Parden, he has positive expectations for the team.
“It would be awesome to make it to CCS as a team, but all we can hope for is low wind and low scores at the tough San Juan Oaks Golf Course,” Galvin said.
The team has turned its attention to SCVAL finals and is putting in extra effort to make sure everyone is prepared, particularly against Gunn, Palo Alto and Palma, the schools that serve as the biggest competition. To gain familiarity with the course and a leg up on other teams, Saratoga traveled to and practiced extensively on the course at San Juan Oaks during spring break and stepped up the mental and physical preparation in the weeks before the league finals.
