On Monday the girls golf team had a top five finish at Tiburon and two girls medaled. It was a rough battle throughout the whole tournament due to the difficulty of the course. Senior Kate McAlpine was given a compliment by a coach on how she was very kind. Those that meddled are senior Sophia Martin and Sophomore Chloe DiPrima. Martin shared how she felt about her performance overall.
“I feel like I started out and ended strong and then during the middle of my round I felt like I struggled the most,” Martin said. “But overall I posted a good score with lots of room for improvement.”
McAlpine transferred from Marian for her Junior year. She was on the golf team there and decided to keep that the same at Westside. She also is on the Varsity soccer team making her a multiple sport athlete. She expressed how she felt about her performance.
“I thought I played really well until the last two holes,” McAlpine said. “I was super tired and they weren’t the way I was planning to finish.”
Head coach Jered Hellman was right by the girls’ side coaching them along the way. He shared how this tournament performance compared to the others that team has been to this season.
“Tiburon is a tough golf course, and the rough was very penal, so the girls had to battle all day,” Hellman said. “I was very proud of their attitude and determination to post the best score that they could.”
Martin is one of the two people that are team captains. She is a senior leader and placed in the top ten at districts last season. She expressed any challenges she faced that she didn’t anticipate.
“During my round one of the girls was having a really rough day and was often shooting double the score we would shoot,” Martin said. “Sometimes it is difficult to keep focused when that happens.”
This was not the team’s best performance out of the season, but every tournament even if it’s not your best day you can learn something. Hellman shared how he felt about the team’s overall performance at the tournament.
“I was pleased with our performance,” Hellman said. “In golf you can always do better and feel that you left strokes out there, but the girls kept their composure to the very end.”
Tiburon can be a difficult course to many. McAlpine explained if there were any particular holes or shots that stood out to her.
“Yes, on a par four,” McAlpine said. “I almost drove the green, chipped in, and then made a 10 ft putt for birdie.”
Every team always has room to be better and improve. The golf team has been playing very well throughout the season, but Hellman explained what areas the team needs to work on for improvement.
“We need to continue to work on our short game, mental approach, and our confidence,” Hellman said. “We have played a lot of girls in Varsity tournaments through our first 5 events, and we have proven with our top lineup that we can compete with the best in the state, and I want our girls to have that confidence moving forward.”
There are many girls on the team, but only five can go to districts and state. This makes the girls work harder for every upcoming tournament to show they should be a part of the final lineup. Hellman shared how the many talents and competition on the team will show who will be in that final lineup for the end tournaments of the season.
“We have also proven that we have eight to nine girls who are highly competitive, in the top 40 in the state scoring system, and we look to bring our best squad to Metro, Districts, and State,” Hellman said. “This competition amongst teammates is only going to make us stronger. It adds an extra element of stress and anxiety to the girls knowing they need to play their best, and these are the pressures that they will feel at Districts and State and we want the 5 girls that can handle this the best to represent us at Districts and State.”
