Golf team ends Paly’s five-year winning streak

Eyeing the ball and the flag, No. 1 player freshman Kevin Sze swung his 7-iron and knocked the ball onto the green just few yards away from the hole during a match against Palo Alto on April 24 at the Saratoga Country Club. Shots like this helped Sze to score a two over-par 36, while No. 2 player sophomore William Liu played an even par 34.

As a result, the boys’ golf team defeated Palo Alto 200-201, ending the Vikings’ 5-year league winning streak totaling 60 straight wins. With the victory against first-place Palo Alto, the seventh-place Falcons ended with three wins in a row, finishing the season 5-6-1.

“We always have the advantage when we play at home because our home course is shorter than other courses,” No. 3 player senior Trevor Leung said. “But it’s still difficult so it requires you to know the course well in order to succeed, which contributed in our victory against Paly.”

The second win in their winning streak came against Homestead on April 19 when they bested the Mustangs 195-214 at Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course (par 35). Sze led the scoring with a two-over 37, while Liu shot a 39 and Leung shot 40.

In the match against Los Altos at Saratoga Country Club on April 17, the boys beat the Eagles 218-238 with Sze shooting a 40 and No. 4 player junior Chris Lee shooting 41.

In a three-way match on April 10, the boys played against Gunn and Los Gatos at Saratoga Country Club,.

Sze’s, Liu’s, Leung’s and Lee’s scores counted for both matches, while No. 5 player junior James Parden’s and No. 6 player sophomore Ryan Huesby’s scores counted for the match against Gunn, and No. 9 player senior Nathan Shang and No. 10 player senior Wyatt Schulman played against Los Gatos. The boys tied with Gunn 207-207 but lost by one stroke against Los Gatos 218-219. Sze and Leung led the way in both matches with a 40 from each.

The boys also lost 223-235 to Gunn High School at the Golf Club at Moffett Field on March 30.

“Some of us, myself included, didn't play well on the first three holes at Moffett field, so that really hurt our team’s score,” Leung said. “We should’ve won that game against Gunn and if we played those first few holes better we would've won.”

With the regular season finished, three players, Sze, Liu and Leung will compete at league finals as individuals on May 2. The Falcons barely missed placing in the top six, which would have granted them the chance to participate in the tournament as a group.