By Yolanda Feng
Wrapping up its season, the varsity girls’ golf team gained victory over the Washington Eagles 411–559 in the All-City Championship match on Oct. 31, maintaining its reign as champions and undefeated streak for the third consecutive season.
The Cardinals displayed dominating standings for both the team and individual scores. In addition to becoming team champions of the section, freshman Lauren Shew, sophomore Stephanie Sunga and freshman Denise Wei won gold, silver and bronze in the Individual Tournament, respectively.
The Cardinals displayed dominating standings for both the team and individual scores.
The championship match was an 18-hole game held at the nine-hole Jack Fleming Golf Course. The Cardinals had to play through the same nine-hole course twice in order to complete the 18 holes, which they took to their advantage. “The first time was more like a trial,” junior Lorelei Vaisse said, “The second time around I kind of knew the course better, and I knew what to expect. So, I adjusted my swings and clubs accordingly.”
The Cardinals faced a few obstacles during the game. The team wasn’t playing in the most ideal conditions because the field was wet, which affected how well the golf ball rolled. Some of the players’ shoes were soaked, causing discomfort throughout the game. Additionally, it was tough to compete with their own teammates since their scores counted not only for the team as a whole but also for the individual championship.
Although it was only Shew’s first season on the team, she showed tremendous abilities and strategic executions. “I had a game plan for each hole, what clubs I would play, and what each shot would be,” Shew said, “I was actually surprised that I shot a 68 because I thought [my score] would be higher since the conditions were really wet.”
This win also meant the Cardinals achieved another domination over the Eagles. The Cardinals and Eagles have been head to head in the past four championship games. “They’re definitely our biggest competitor year after year,” co-captain senior Jennifer Ng said, “They do have good players that we go up against, but I hope to see other schools also up their game a little bit because that would make our league a lot more challenging and fun to play in matches.”
“They set the bar a lot higher for our competitions.”
Throughout the season, the Cardinals also played schools around the Bay Area, outside the CIF San Francisco Section. Cardinals won all those matches as well, an unprecedented achievement showing their capabilities. Ng credits Shew, Sunga and Wei for taking the team to another competitive level. “They set the bar a lot higher for our competitions and I think they’ll be more than able to handle next year and the years after that,” Ng said.
The Cardinals were able to move onto the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) championship after months of hard work and preparation. The NorCal tournament posed a greater challenge for the Cardinals, since the competition was greater than the sectional championships, according to Ng. The Cardinals competed in Salinas for the NCGA/CIF High School Girls NorCal Championship match on Nov. 7. The team finished tenth out of twelfth place with a score of 485, and will not move on to the next round. The Cardinal’s best individual score was 79 by Lauren Shew, who placed 27 out of 88.
