Senior plans to help bring team up to par

The girls’ golf team has an all-time high of 19 players this season. Though only six girls play in matches, all have been meeting together since school started.

Most are new to to the game, but the young team prides itself on a promising future of 10 freshmen, eight sophomores and one senior. The senior is Uttara Sivaram, who coach Casey Hall is counting on to help lead the team.

“I think [Sivaram] is going to play a very important role this year. Not only is she the team captain and only upperclassman, but she has been on the team since it started three years ago,” Hall said.

Sivaram plans to take upon a new leadership role for the team and help the new golfers reach their full potential.

“I’ll try my best to give the newbies the benefit of my experience on the team,” Sivaram said. “Golf is a really unconventional school sport, so I know they’re still trying to understand what their roles are on the team.”

The team knows this season will be a bumpy ride. Some upcoming challenges include the match against Los Gatos on Sept. 27 at the La Rinconada Golf Course and another Coyote Creek match versus long-time competitor Leland on Oct. 6.

Hall acknowledges that the team has much work to do, so her current objectives are straightforward.

“A couple of main goals this year, for the entire group, is to function well as a team and to have fun,” Hall said. “I wasn’t quite sure what to expect this year, but I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout.”

Despite the unprecedented number of golfers, the team got off to a slightly unsteady start in its first match against Evergreen Valley High School at the Coyote Creek Golf Course on Sept. 9, losing by 28 strokes.

“I think half our team did not have experience, and I know I was not prepared to go back into a match,” No. 3 player sophomore Sanjna Verma said. “I think we could have improved by practicing more.”

The team placed fourth in last year’s division, and Sivaram hopes she can help lead the team to place into CCS or at least have someone break through qualifiers. But she maintains that sticking as a team is one of the most important things.

“Every golf season so far has been incredibly fun,” Sivaram said. “If we achieve nothing else, I know we’ll at least have a whole load of experiences we won’t forget.”