Last week, the Islander girls golf team closed out their final three matches to finish the regular season with an overall record of 14-5 and an impressive 9-1 in league play. The team differential stands at 27.34, which places the girls 8th in the entire San Diego Section and champions of the Western League for the third year in a row.
On Monday, October 11, the Islanders faced defending Division I champions, the Torrey Pines Falcons, at La Costa Resort & Spa Legends Course. The par 37 held an unusually low course rating of 36.1 for the slope of 130. Add punched greens and an intimidating opponent to the mix, and some of the Islanders struggled with their mental game.
“It wasn’t the greatest match ever, but at least it gave the players a practice round at La Costa in preparation for CIF,” Coach Stuart Gordon shared. “It was freezing cold, windy, and gusty.”
Although the Islanders were not at their best, the highlight of the round was sophomore Jasmine Lo, who nearly holed out on her tee shot of the par-three sixth hole. Her ball landed five inches away from the pin, and she tapped in the putt for birdie. Jasmine was medalist of the round with a score of four-over 41, outstanding effort for the conditions and slope.
Followed by Jasmine was fellow sophomore Bella Villarin with a 44, freshman Malia Perry with a 49, junior Mariella Avanni with a 49, and her twin sister Natalia Avanni with a 50.
The Islanders’ combined efforts of 233 wasn’t enough to best the Falcons’ score of 218, but the varsity team gained valuable course knowledge for the eighteen-hole CIF round in just a few short weeks.
Tuesday, October 12, marked the very last Western League match for the Islanders. Despite the large lead Coronado had over their rival Scripps Ranch, the girls still brought their A-game to the course after the bumpy start to the week at La Costa.
Sophomore Ines Izuzquiza fired a round of one-under par 35, matching her current nine-hole record in red figures. She currently holds a formidable differential of 1.00, which ranks her as 10th in the entire San Diego County; this is an impressive feat for a sophomore.
Bella bounced back after a rough day to shoot two-over par 38 and Jasmine tied her. To have three players out of the five scores total shoot in the 30s drastically improves the team’s differential and increases the odds of shooting under 200.
Malia carded a 48 and Natalia rounded out the Islanders with a 49.
“It was a great win against OLP because their team on their home course can shoot low. They’re used to the course and the slope of the greens, whereas we weren’t quite as familiar,” commented Coach Stuart. “Of the ten weeks that we’ve played, I’m extremely pleased with all the players. Despite all my moans and groans, they’ve done well. To win Western League three years running is excellent.”
The girls were victorious against the Pilots 208-218 to become crowned Western League Champions. Congrats lady Islanders!
On Thursday, October 14, the Islanders traveled to Chula Vista Golf Course to compete against Olympian High School. The par 37 held a course rating of 35.4 and a slope of 120, which was deemed fairly easy to play. However, the course itself was one of the worst conditions the girls had ever seen. The greens were recently punched, making putting extremely difficult on sandy and bumpy surfaces. The fairways were almost entirely covered in mud, dirt, or dead grass. Some free relief was available, but only if a player landed in unplayable conditions. For most approach shots, chips, and putts, the girls had to rely on their technique and confidence to power them through the round.
However, the Islanders lived up to their potential and managed to score a team total of 216 against Olympian’s 241, cashing in a tremendous last-match victory.
Bella was medalist with her record lowest round of the season: one-under par 36 and bogey free for the nine holes. She managed to make one birdie putt on the par-five second hole and parred all the others to finish with a new personal best. Mariella also fired her personal record of the season: five-over par 42. Malia was next among the Islanders with a score of 44, followed by junior Madeline Tulagan with an impressive 46. Madeline was a consistent JV player, and this was her first official match on the varsity team.
“We have to highlight Madeline because she played extremely well,” Coach Stuart shared. “She came through perfectly.”
Natalia rounded out the Islanders with a solid score of 11-over par 48.
“I’m over the moon with the play on Thursday. The course was one of the worst that I’ve ever seen, and everyone played better than their differential,” Coach Stuart described.
With a cumulative score of 216 against Olympians’ 241, Coronado easily bested their opponents to end the regular season with a solid victory.
Now, it’s onto the post-season excitement as the girls look to tee it up at Balboa Park Golf Course in the Western League City Tournament on Monday, October 18. After one round of eighteen holes in a field of 43, the top 16 players will compete in nine hole matchplay rounds. The last four players standing will square off on Thursday, October 21, at Torrey Pines South Course.
Junior Varsity
The JV girls faced a combined team of La Jolla and Canyon Hills at Balboa 9 on Wednesday, October 14. Madeline was the highlight of the match with a round of 44, followed by freshman Sierra Grella with a 50. Junior Jesse Hill played at her top game carding a 54. Fellow juniors Morgan Arendt and Sadie Wong both carded a 56.
“The JV team won their match easily because the opposition wasn’t very good,” Coach Stuart commented. “We won with a total score of 234.”
Next week, the JV team looks to participate in the end of the season tournament at National City Golf Course titled “Best of the Rest.” This nine hole tournament will feature seven JV Islander members with medals given out to the top player from each school and each in foursome.
Find San Diego Section girls golf and Western League standings here.
Find Coronado girls golf player information and match results here.
