The undefeated match play run for the varsity girls’ golf team finally came to an end Wednesday, as they dropped their match against defending league champion Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (4-0 overall, 3-0 in Mission League play) by a score of 195-209 at the Hansen Dam Golf Course.
Notre Dame’s experience was simply too much for the Wolverines’ youth — Notre Dame had four senior golfers, all of whom scored at last year’s CIF-SS Northern Division finals (where Notre Dame finished in 3rd, and Harvard-Westlake in 10th), score in the 30s for the nine-hole round. Two of them, Sammy Winchester ’15 and Kathryn Newton ’15, were a shot under the course’s par score of 37.
Still, the senior-less Wolverines showed that their future is bright, as freshmen Karina Gou ’18 and Josie Baker ’18 once again led the team in scoring with respective 39s on the day. Captain Vivian Lin ’16 had a seasonal-best with 41 strokes, and Lauren Song ’16 wasn’t too far off with a 43. Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame had worse team scores on Wednesday than they did at the Mission League Mid-season Tournament at the same course on Tuesday, suggesting that the fatigue of playing on consecutive days may have been a factor for both sides.
Coach Marge Chamberlain said about the match: “Notre Dame has some talented seniors who played very well today. Our scores continue to come down and our squad is getting more competitve. Vivian Lin shot her best score of the season firing off a 41. We continue to focus on our putting and mental toughness and are moving on to the next match against Chaminade.”
The Wolverines, now 4-1 overall and 3-1 in league play, still control their own destiny for 2nd place in the regular season standings, and will get more chances at the Knights in the Oct. 6 Walnut Invitational and the Oct. 20 Mission League Team Finals. For now, the team will get some much needed rest after their grueling two-day stretch against elite competition, as they won’t play again until Oct. 2nd against Chaminade (1-5, 0-3 in league). The Wolverines will make the trip to the Woodley Lakes Municipial Golf Course for the match, which will start at 3:15 P.M.
