New girls’ golf team takes a swing

For the first time in school history, a girls’ golf team is teeing off.

A growing number of requests to the school last year resulted in the team being formed. Eight students said they’d play, two more than the minimum player requirement for high school golf, and the team became official.

“I think we have a lot of players with a really positive attitude,” said sophomore Annaliese Parker, the No. 2 golfer. “The team has a lot of potential for the future.”

Casey Hall, golf teacher and member of the Saratoga Country Club, was picked for the job of coaching the team. Most recently, Saratoga got ready for its fourth game, matching up against Burlingame, San Mateo, and Woodside on Sept. 15 at the Saratoga Country Club. No. 6 golfer junior Natasha Aleksic put up the best score for the Falcons with a 54 followed by a solid 56 by Weiss. The team ended up third out of the four teams, recording a team score of 231. Though they beat Woodside’s 247, San Mateo sought redemption and beat the Falcons, posting a 220 while Burlingame took first place, posting a low 194.

On Sept. 10, the girls teed up against Aragon and San Mateo at Poplar Creek, San Mateo’s home course. Sivaram led the way, posting a 47, followed by Parker, who played a 50 stroke game. The team finished with a score of 210, edging out San Mateo’s 216-stroke game, but losing to Aragon, who golfed a 193.

The Falcon’s previous game was scheduled for Sept. 8 against Menlo Atherton; the teams played on the narrow fairways of the Saratoga Country Club.

“The grass was pretty soaked, so it was hard to hit good shots,” said No. 5 golfer junior Kayla Epsman. “The opposing team had a tough time too, but they were nice about it, and played pretty well.”

Due to the marshy fairways and the usual challenges that Saratoga’s difficult home course provides, both teams found themselves playing far above par. Sophomore Uttara Sivaram, the No. 1 golfer, and Parker had difficulty reaching the greens on the second hole, where their shots landed in roughs with long and muddy grass, leading to uncharacteristically high scores of 49 and 54, respectively. The cumulative scores were tallied 348-377, a loss for Saratoga.

In their first match on Sept. 4, the Falcons faced off against San Mateo. Due to complications with the availability of five members, only three players went to the match.

“I thought the game went pretty well,” said Parker. “Our team only sent three people [No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 golfers Parker, junior Amanda Fluker and freshman Jayten Weiss], but overall, we played well.” Because of the four-player minimum however, the game was forfeited at the end.

This did not dampen the girls’ spirit, and they say that they are proud to be winning and scoring in such close margins with the other schools.

“This is, after all, our first year as a team,” said Epsman, “but I can definitely see room for improvement.”