The boys’ golf team had a solid year last year. The team finished second behind York In the league tournament. “Since I have played league for about 4 years, I expect to see considerable improvement from last year and hopefully [we will] win the league with the team,” senior Jeremiah Baloca said.
Unfortunately, the team lost some key players to graduation, but Coach Sunil Patel is confident in their new and returning players who he feels are ready to step up and fill the gaps. “When we lost four seniors who were starters, we knew it was going to be a challenge rebuilding the team,” Patel said. “We have a good base of players who have been working at it over the past year or so, so hopefully they can step up.”
The team has two returning players – Baloca and Oscar Calderon. “I am really motivated to win the league after not winning for the past three years,” Baloca said. “I have been playing golf for 8 years now, so I am pretty dialed in with the technique.”
Joining the team this year are freshman Victor Ruiz, sophomore Jhonn Silva, along with seniors Nathaniel Meza and Nicholas Meza. “My expectations this season for my team and I are to win the league and make memories throughout the season,” Nathaniel Meza said.
The team has remained in the Mission Division. Both the team and coaches hope to use last season’s finish as motivation for this year. “Our team goal this year is to win the championship,” Patel said. “Last year we came close, we were second, and this year we think we have improved.” Ruiz said, “I expect that the team this year will do well since the team is filled with great players. If we all
give it our best I’m sure we can win the league this year.”
As is typically the case, the weather has been a factor early on, canceling the first two matches. In two preseason matches against Alvarez, the Trojans went 2-0. Patel was happy with what
he had seen, “Jeremiah Baloca and Oscar Calderon are leading our new and returning players and giving them confidence and advice and golf skills to help them get ready for a winning golf
season,” he said.
He also had confidence that the younger players would improve and compete this year.
