By Ryan Menzie
Signal Sports Writer
Another Foothill League match has been completed and, once again, the West Ranch Wildcats find themselves at the top.
The Foothill League girls golf teams competed at Vista Valencia on Sept. 28 and the Wildcats finished in first place once again, this time five strokes ahead of the Valencia Vikings. The Vikings were only three strokes behind the Wildcats in their week two match.
“It was another close one,” said Wildcats head coach Jeff Holen. “Regardless, it was still a nice win. We want to keep adding to our scores as the league progresses. If we have all our girls keep shooting in the low- to mid-30’s, we’ll be in good shape. We just can’t give away bad shots. We still have a long way to go until we get to where we want to be.”
The Wildcats finished with 197 strokes and were led by Eunice Yi, who finished the match with 32 strokes, which was good enough for 1-under par. Yi was the medalist of the match, leading all other players in strokes. Rori Fanning finished with 35 strokes for the Wildcats.
The Vikings finished in second place for the third straight week, but have been slowly inching closer to the Wildcats. Vikings head coach Robert Waters believes the team could’ve played better, but overall, the team played well. Waters just wants to see the girls keep grinding and hopes with the hard work they can outmatch the Wildcats next time.
“We get another shot at (West Ranch) next week so hopefully we can put it all together,” said Waters. “It’s all I can ask for as a coach. West Ranch played solid from top to bottom. When it comes to being competitive, especially against a team like West Ranch, it comes down to one hole. That was the difference maker in this match.”
The Vikings finished with 202 strokes and were led by Jillian Leh, who finished the match with 34 strokes, just two strokes behind Yi. Been Yoo also shot her best round of golf, finishing with 35 strokes.
“It did feel really great,” said Yoo when asked about what it meant for her to have her best round of golf. “It showed me what I am capable of. My main focus coming into the match was to have fun. My family and coach always tell me to have fun so I went with the mindset of having fun rather than worrying about my shot. Practicing on myself and going to the range was very important coming into the match and it paid off for me.”
The Hart Indians finished in third place once again with 207 strokes, five strokes behind the Vikings. The Indians were led by their No. 3 golfer Brooke Almond, who finished the match with 36 strokes. Sophia Yi finished with 37 strokes while the No. 1 hitter, Peyton Grider, finished with 38 strokes.
After coming in fifth place the previous week, the Saugus Centurions finished in fourth place with 281 strokes and were led by Brooke Maxwell, who shot a 43 and Madison Seifert, who shot a 44. The Golden Valley Grizzlies finished in fifth with 294 strokes and were led by Riya Patel, who shot a 46 and Chloe Switzer, who shot a 48.
The Canyon Cowboys, who have not been able to score the previous two weeks, had enough golfers to qualify for a score with 308 strokes. The Cowboys were led by Vivian Lee with 41 strokes.