Erin Redmond can be reached at (408) 842-1694. Follow her on Twitter @DispatchERed, or send her your golf pictures on Instagram @DispatchERed.
Gilroy
The Gilroy and Christopher High girls golf programs are polar opposites.
While the Cougars continue to see an increased interest in their program, the Mustangs are facing the possibility of not having one in 2014. Gilroy has just two members of its team this year — Cierra Montoya-Valdez and Latherian Harrison — and both are seniors. The two Mustangs have tried to recruit more girls to their team, but are met with resistance from their classmates leaving them fearing the program will die when they graduate.
“We don’t want that to happen because it’s like a club and we want it to stay here,” Montoya-Valdez said. “We don’t want it to disappear.” Harrison agreed and added that anyone who did show interest in joining was a senior thus not helping the problem of keeping the program alive.
“We’re trying, but girls are like ‘That’s weird. Why do we have to do that?’,” she said. “I feel like when we leave, there’s going to be no more golf.”
Over at Christopher, the story is much different. The squad that was 2-9 in 2011 made a drastic turnaround last season, finishing 8-3 and in third place in the Monterey Bay League division. The Cougars see the return of the team’s No.1 junior Natalie Gutierrez as well as sophomores Nina Velez and Kylie Kuwada, the No. 2 and 3 respectively.
With a youthful core to the team, the future is looking bright for Christopher — as long as it can improve its short game.
“In golf putting is the most important part of the game,” CHS coach Manuel Gallardo said. “I think if they can go from three putting to two putting, it’ll save each girl over five shots. In most of the matches we did lose, we lost by about 20 shots. So five girls, five shots each would put us right where we need to be.”
Newcomers Mia Navarro and Julie Santiago, both freshmen as well as Alex Granados, a junior transfer from New Mexico, will round out the starting rotation for the Cougars. Gutierrez said she likes the strength of her team this year and is hoping that they can be successful against league opponents like Santa Catalina, Monte Vista and Stevenson.
“This year I’m planning on making it to CCS (Central Coast Section),” Gutierrez said. “I’ve been working really hard and I hope to get in like the fifth place to first place. Also, I want us to go to third place (in CCS) this year. Hopefully next year we can to either second or first.”
Back at Gilroy team scores are far from the Mustangs’ mind. With only two players, the team will automatically receive 81 points — the highest score you can shoot — for every missing player from a six person roster. Coach Daniel Valdez said he wants the girls to have fun and focus on qualifying for the CCS tournament individually.
“It will be hard for us to compete as far as winning as a team, but they can still do good as an individual,” Valdez said. “Even if our team does not win our match, they can still medal which helps them to make CCS.”
Both teams kick off the season Aug.12. The Cougars will start with a league contest against Monte Vista at 3:30 p.m. at Gavilan Golf Course. The Mustangs will also play a league opponent, Notre Dame, at 3 p.m. at Gilroy Golf Course.
