Girls’ golf team ends season 5th in the league

The girls’ golf team played its final league game on Oct. 28 at the St. Teresa Golf Course, placing fifth in the SCVAL league and ending the season with an 8-6 record. The Falcons didn’t advance to CCS as a team, but junior Carrie Chen made it to CCS individually.

The match pitted Saratoga against the top teams in the league: Gunn, Palo Alto, Lynbrook, Los Gatos and some individuals from Monta Vista.

Sophomore Raina Kolluri said the team did not play as well as they could have. Only the teams who place in the top three in the league go to CCS.

“We were up against teams that we didn’t expect to win against, so we didn’t try as hard as we could have,” Kolluri said. “We went in the mentality that we just wanted to get it over with.”

Chen finished with a score of 82 in the league game, meeting the CCS qualifications of having under the score of 83.

She played in the first round of CCS on Oct. 30 against players from schools such as Gunn and Palo Alto but did not advance to the next round.

“I didn’t play as well as I could have, and even if I played well, I don’t think I could have made it to the next level,” Chen said. “Hopefully next year I will make CCS again and play better.”

The team also faced some tough opponents in their league.

“The odds are stacked against us because every other school is getting really good freshmen on their team,” junior Ankitha Sarvesh said. “We’re all good players as a team, but we’re not able to keep up with players from schools like Gunn.”

Gunn and Palo Alto are the team’s biggest competition, mainly because their top players are exceptional. According to Sarvesh, the SHS is consistent, but does not have stand-out players like Gunn and Palo Alto.

“Other teams’ scores are a lot more spread out, but we all have similar playing styles and consistently get similar scores,” Sarvesh said.

Despite challenges and losses in the last few games of the season, according to Sarvesh, the team has done well this year compared to past years.

“Of the three years I’ve played on the team, I don’t think we’ve ever played better,” Sarvesh said.