By Ryan Menzie
Signal Sports Writer
The West Ranch Wildcats girls golf team are well on their way to another league title as they won their fourth league match in a row last week at Hansen Dam.
Wildcats coach Jeff Holen is happy with his team’s exceptional performance once again, but would like to see his entire team’s scores drop in the 30’s and a team total score of around 190.
“We started playing how we should be playing on a daily basis,” said Holen. “We have to keep improving so we don’t make any costly errors that will keep us from being a CIF team. Any given day, any of our players from one to six are going to be contributors to our team.”
The Wildcats were led by Rori Fanning, who was also the medalist of the match, shooting 35, which was good enough for 1-under par. Kate Yi would finish with 38 strokes and Ashmita Goel would finish with 39 strokes.
“It was nice because I tried coming out and having a better game than the last couple of matches I’ve been in,” said Fanning when asked about being the medalist for the match. “My teammates and coach Holen were very supportive of me. It was nice to get a good win.”
The Valencia Vikings would once again finish in second place behind the Wildcats, finishing with 210 strokes. Vikings head coach Robert Waters believes they had a solid round together, despite some of the struggles the team had during the match.
“The girls are getting better,” said Waters. “It was a tough game. Sometimes you work your tail off and can still have a bad day. We put ourselves in this position so now we have our backs against the wall. We just have to finish out strong in our final two matches at the Oaks Club and avoid big numbers.”
The Vikings were led by Jillian Leh and Been Yoo, who each shot a 37. The Wildcats’ Eunice Yi shot a 41, which still keeps Leh one shot ahead of Yi for the season to hold onto the lead for all players.
“The Hansen Dam golf course is a course I’m not too confident in, but everyone around me kept encouraging me to do great,” said Yoo. “I didn’t stress and I didn’t prioritize my score. With less stress on me and people around me helping me feel less stressed it allowed me to just go out and have fun. I kept my energy up and thanks to the stress-free environment around me, I had another great match. A hyper and encouraging flow is important to me as a player.”
The Hart Indians finished in third for the fourth straight week with 232 strokes. The Indians were led by Peyton Grider, who shot a 42, with Sophia Yi not too far behind, shooting a 46. The Saugus Centurions would finish in fifth place at 265 strokes and were led by Brooke Maxwell with 44 strokes and Madison Seifert with 50 strokes.
The Golden Valley Grizzlies finished in fifth place with 313 strokes and were led by Riya Patel with 52 strokes and Baily Lieberman with 54 strokes. The Canyon Cowboys qualified for scores in their last match, but this match they only had four players and were unable to qualify for a final score. Vivian Lee led the Cowboys with 49 strokes.
The next league matchup is scheduled Wednesday at 1 p.m. at The Oaks Club at Valencia.
