While the varsity girls’ golf team improved dramatically from their 2013 performance, they couldn’t quite close the gap separating themselves from longtime rival Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The Wolverines took second place to the Knights in the eight-team Mission League Finals, finishing with a score of 415 strokes for the 18-hole round at the Harding-Wilson Golf Course on Monday. Notre Dame won its 6th straight league title with a score of 390 for its top five golfers, Mission League newcomer Marlborough came in third with a 428 on the day, and Alemany took 4th at 448.
It was freshmen leading the pack again for Harvard-Westlake, as Josie Baker ’18 and Karina Gou ’18 put up the team’s best scores with a 78 and a 79, respectively. The squad’s veterans filled in not too far behind; Lauren Song ’16 scored 85 for the round, Carolyn Hong ’17 put up 86, and captain Vivian Lin ’16 rounded out the five scorers with an 87. Chantalle Wang ’17, whose score wasn’t included in the final total because only five scores are counted, shot a 92, which was the best score out of any team’s 6th place golfer.
Although the Wolverines weren’t able to claim their first league title since 2008, they were a staggering 56 strokes closer to the Knights than they were in the 2013 finals, suggesting that Head Coach Marge Chamberlain’s program is surely heading in the right direction. Seeing as the Wolverines roster has no members of the Class of 2015, while four of Notre Dame’s top five scorers were seniors, the rivalry should only be more competitive next season.
Chamberlain was proud of her team’s performance, calling it “a great day for our squad,” and adding that “the ‘Dynamic Duo’ (freshmen Baker and Gou) led the way again, but Carolyn, Vivian, and Lauren all performed well.”
Baker (8th overall), Gou (9th), Song (13th), Hong (14th), and Lin (15th) all finished in the top 16 amongst individual golfers for the day, and they consequently will next compete at the Mission League Individual Finals on Oct. 23 at the River Ridge Golf Course at 10 A.M. Harvard-Westlake tied Notre Dame for having the most advancing golfers to the Individual Finals, as the two schools combined for 10 of the league’s top 16 performances on the day. The top eight finishers at the league individuals will next advance to the CIF Southern Section Northern Division Individual Finals on Oct. 27.
In addition, the top four Mission League teams from Monday’s contest will advance to the CIF-SS Northern Division Team Finals, where the Wolverines will look for revenge against the Knights. The squad hopes to improve from last season’s 10th place finish in the tournament, which takes place on Oct. 30.
More on the league finals can be read here: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20141021/prep-roundup-notre-dame-golf-captures-mission-league-title/1
