Girls golf has hit its mid-season stride.  This week (Sept 27-Oct 1) we played Orcutt Academy.  Because of construction at Santa Maria Country Club we held our home match at Cypress Ridge.  We were grateful that they could host us on short notice.  Being at an unfamiliar course showed in higher-than-average scores for both teams.  Still, the girls persevered well.

On Wednesday, the girls played at Rancho Maria. Being Orcutt’s home course, they won convincingly.  The Saints girls, though, scored several individual and moral victories of their own.  SMHS lowered their score from earlier in the week by 42 shots. Yes, 42, shooting a season low and within striking distance of all-time lows for girls teams.  This sets them up well to be competitive with Morro Bay and PVHS over the next 2 weeks.  Their score would have beat both schools at several matches this season.

The girls are led by Natalie Gonzales, who shot a personal best 48, breaking 50 for the first time!  Sofia Regalado continues to be the hallmark of consistency for the team.  Phoebe Becerra’s score was several shots better than any of her previous matches at Rancho Maria.  These three veteran golfers make up a great foundation for the team.  Any one of them could be the team medalist on any given day, and it seems like when one struggles, the other two step in and have good days to prop up the team score.  They have all had their turn; Wednesday was Natalie’s.

I am super proud of the girls on the team that are new to golf.  Jimena Diaz improved her personal best by 15 shots yesterday, shooting a 60.  This is quite an accomplishment for someone having only played golf for 6 weeks.  Noradely Garcia, in only her second match ever, improved her score by 8 shots over her first match.  Kareen Martinez continues to super consistent in her performance and attitude.  If you have her in class, you probably know what I mean.  Though she had to rotate out of playing on Wednesday, Cinthia Martinez contributed a personal best to the team in Monday’s match.

Next week we play Morro Bay on Tuesday at Santa Maria Country Club and on Thursday at Morro Bay.  If you’d like to come out and watch, just contact me and I’ll let you know how to watch.  Please keep encouraging the girls.  They are working hard to play well. If they continue with their improvement, there are great things in their future, including more personal bests, lower averages as well as “firsts” and “bests” for SMHS girls golf.