After losing their first five matches of the season, the girls have begun to see improvement as they head into leagues.
The team won two of their past three matches, 221-232 vs. Palo Alto High on Oct. 13 and 230-267 vs. Los Altos High on Oct. 5, both at Shoreline Golf Links (par 36), bringing their record to 2-6-1.
No. 1 player sophomore Janelle Jin led the team with a 40, while No. 2 player junior Sarah Lo shot 42 against Palo Alto. Both of them shot 43 against Los Altos. No. 3 player senior Cynthia Yang, who shot 44 in both matches, credits their wins to head coach Dave Gragnola’s advice.
“We did well especially because we did what our coach told us to do on the greens: read greens from both sides of the hole,” Yang said. “We saved many strokes by making long putts as well as playing safe and smartly on difficult holes.”
Jin has been anchoring the team this season, averaging 39.5 strokes per match. She is currently 10th individually in the De Anza League. Jin credits her performance to practicing almost every day during the summer.
On Oct. 10, the girls dropped a close match 207-209 to Lynbrook at the Saratoga Country Club (par 34). Jin and Lo paced the team with scores of 38.
“We actually did really well in our home match against Lynbrook but we ended up losing by two because of a couple of simple errors and extra strokes that could've been avoided, like short putts on the last hole,” Lo said.
They also lost to Lynbrook 178-185 at Deep Cliff Golf Course (par 30) on Sept. 29, with Jin and Lo shooting 35, Yang shooting 36 and No. 6 player senior Anya Herne shooting 38.
On Oct. 3, the girls tied 214-214 with Gunn at Saratoga Country Club. Jin led with a 3-over 37, Lo shot 41 and No. 5 player senior Raina Kolluri chipped in a 44. This rare occurrence showed how every stroke matters in the game.
“Every player on our team agreed that had we could’ve played better collectively and easily shaven off a stroke or two in our individual rounds to win,” Yang said.
Los Gatos also defeated the girls 220-237 on Sept. 27 at La Rinconada Country Club (par 36), with Jin shooting 42, Lo shooting 44 and No. 4 player freshman Sally Kim shooting 48.
The top six players who will be representing the team at Leagues is composed of Jin, Lo, Yang, Kim, Kolluri and Herne. According to Kolluri, they are expecting to place at least fourth or fifth at Leagues, which will take place on Oct. 25 at Santa Teresa Golf Club.
“We just need to focus on striking the ball well in order to get distance, especially at Santa Teresa,” Kolluri said.
Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was unable to cover the match against Los Altos High at home on Oct. 17.