The girls’ golf team started the season with the achievements of last season in mind. Last season, the team was undefeated champions, going 9-0, winning every one of their matches. Their only loss was one of their best players, Ilana Mendez, who graduated.
However, this year the team is made up of mostly senior returners which include seniors Laura Magaña, Diana Cruz, Sarah Ann Henriques, Izabella Gonzalez, and Natalia Hernandez. All who bring a resilient spirit to the team, according to their Coach. The rest of this year’s team is made up of juniors Alejdandra Alvarez, Vanessa Zuniga, Valeria Gonzales, and Evelyn Hernandez; and freshmen Camilla Saldana and Annamae Henriques.
As far as leadership goes, Coach Etivise Latu is in her second year as the Alisal girls golf coach. She is responsible for guiding both the returners and the newcomers to perform their best. Coach Latu certainly brings a friendly atmosphere to the team and to every game. One of her important goals for the team is for them to have fun.
Coach Latu values teamwork and encourages bonding to heighten trust and performance out on the field. She goes as far as taking the team out to places outside of the city. “This year I’m gonna take them to top golf. They’ve never been there before. It’s a great place, good entertainment and a kind of social place where a lot of people like to play and get out and practice,”Coach Latu said. “We don’t have one here so I’m taking them to the one in San Jose.”
The team has only lost their first match against Monterey and NMC. “I think I could’ve done better during our first match by practicing more the day before the match and practicing over the weekend,” Vanessa Zuniga said. “Some things I do believe I did good in but I always kept an open mind on getting a better score and hoping that everyone else beat their girls.” Alejandra Alvarez has continuously gotten the lowest scores on the team, putting her along with Vanessa Zuniga as the top players. Some of the girls have improved in their game but continue to push themselves even further. “Sarah has really improved a lot,” Latu said. “Even with Vanessa improving in her swing, her long game and her mental game.”
The team finished tied for 2nd with North Monterey County in the Mission Division. At PCALs the team finished 6th. “The girls played hard,” Coach Latu said. “They scored 688 as a group of 6 players.”
Both Alejandra Alvarez and Vanessa Zuniga earned 1st Team All-PCAL honors. “I felt pretty proud of myself,” Alvarez said. “Though I felt I didn’t deserve it because I didn’t finish as strong, but I will improve for next year so I can finish strong.” Zuniga said she did better than last year. “I need to improve my long game,” she said.
For the seniors, the end of the season is a bittersweet moment. “Since I’ve been playing all four years, it’s kind of sad just leaving after that,” Natalia Hernandez said. Nevertheless, some good moments and bonds were forged. “My favorite memory so far was probably all the home games at first tee because it was really funny all of us being together in the same car, and the senior dinner was also really fun,” she added.
