Parden places fifth in CCS finals

Saratoga placed second in league finals on April 30 and May 1 with a total score of 428 and advanced to CCS on May 9. 

 “A big setback for myself and the team was a problem with allergies,” sophomore Christian Galvin said.  “[If we did not have] a problem with that we would have played much better than we did, and we could have even won the league.”

Despite  the challenges with allergies, the team did well because of practice and confidence on the course. To gain familiarity with the course and a leg up on other teams, particularly Gunn, Palo Alto and Palma, Saratoga traveled to and practiced extensively on the course at San Juan Oaks during spring break. The team stepped up the mental and physical preparation in the weeks before the league finals and Galvin feels that  the mindset of “solid play and remembering never to quit trying” was one of the  key factors that made it possible for the team to achieve success in league finals and earn a spot in CCS.  

At the Rancho Canada West golf course, the team took 11th place in CCS regionals. Junior Robbie Parden shot 74 at regionals, which put him in a four way tie for 13th place in the individual field and allowed him to advance to  CCS sectionals.

Although Parden was not satisfied with his putting during sectionals, he felt that he hit the ball very well. At sectionals Parden was one of nine players from a non-qualifying team to individually qualify for CCS finals held on May 15, where he earned fifth place, only a stroke short of qualifying for NorCals.

“[As a team] we had a good season but we just didn’t play that well at CCS,” Parden said. “I think that we should be a little bit better next year just from practice and over time.”