Division I Princeton University golf commit Sarah Lim is ranked as the second best player — following Cami Thai of Los Altos — in the De Anza league. She pocketed a remarkable six birdies in a row against Gunn High in a home 210-224 win on Oct. 21. This meant she had the lowest nine-hole score in the history of Saratoga High: 28.
Lim was also nominated for Mercury News’ girls athlete of the week for her stellar performance of carding a 4-under 30 at the Saratoga Country Club in a win against Milpitas on Sept. 30 and a 2-under 35 at Coyote Creek against Los Gatos on Sept. 24; the team won 193-204 and 217-226, respectively.
Despite having only seven players on the team — in contrast to about 12 in previous years — the team is having a strong year, tied for second place with a 9-3 record. The team’s three losses consist of two to top-ranked Monta Vista, with a score of 208-220 on Sept. 15 and a forfeit because the team arrived late on Oct. 17, as well as one 208-228 loss away to Gunn on Oct. 2.
Coach Dave Gragnola attributes their losses to Monta Vista’s overall stronger team, which sports six solid players. In comparison, only the top two Saratoga players are evenly matched — No. 1 player Lim and No. 2 junior Millie Wang — leading to Monta Vista’s lower scoring average. Rounding out the team are seniors Eunice Ching and Lydia Li, junior Stella Cho, sophomore Jacqueline Chico and freshman Simran Ahuja.
Lim said she enjoys practicing with the team, working on her swing at the range or putting on the greens and hanging out with Gragnola.
“[Gragnola] has a funky personality and he makes us laugh a lot, which makes being in the team fun,” Lim said.
In a home game against Milpitas at the Saratoga Country Club, the team also shot a total score of 193, the best in years.
Although quite successful, the team still has its challenges with managing the golf courses they play. Instead of playing each hole by hitting the correct club off the tee, players sometimes inadvertently hit the ball into a hazard area. This leads to errors that inflate the team’s scores.
Looking forward to the final weeks of the season, both Lim and Gragnola are hopeful that the team will make CCS.
“The team will likely make CCS, and we’ll certainly have players advance past CCS as individual players,” Gragnola said.
